Ghana’s Black Stars will be able to qualify out of Group G ahead of South Africa if they are able to beat the Bafana Bafana by any margin at all on Sunday at the Cape Coast Stadium.
The West African powerhouse currently sits second in Group G – which features leaders South Africa, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe.
Ghana shared the spoils in a 1-1 drawn game at the Orlando Stadium in South Africa while the Bafana Bafana defeated whipping boys Zimbabwe 1-0 on home soil hours after Ghana’s game which was played at 13:00 GMT.
Following the outcome of matchday 5 games, most Ghanaians have been left confused as to whether the Black Stars can still qualify out of the group to the next phase of the qualifiers or not.
The simple answer is that the Black Stars, with any win at all against the Bafana Bafana on Sunday, will progress to the next stage of the qualifiers.
This is why.
Per the qualification criteria, these are the dynamics of tiebreaking.
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.4 and 20.6)
- Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
- Overall goal difference
- Overall goals scored
- Points in matches between tied teams
- Goal difference in matches between tied teams
- Goals scored in matches between tied teams
So in the event, the Black Stars win 1-0 against South Africa, Ghana will amass 13 points, with a goal difference of +4 same as South Africa, then the next criterion applies – which is goals scored. Ghana will then have goals scored of 7 while South Africa will have 6 which will leave Ghana to qualify.
Credit: Ghana FA
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