Doubt over Foster ahead of Rwanda qualifier

Bafana Bafana striker, Lyle Foster, is an injury doubt ahead of South Africa’s must win 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Rwanda on Tuesday evening at the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga.

The Burnley forward limped off the field during South Africa’s goalless draw with Zimbabwe on Friday and did not train with the team on Monday as a precaution.

Bafana (15 points, +3 goal difference) head into their final Group C match with qualification largely out of their hands, and their World Cup hopes in jeopardy if they slip up.

The Group C permutations favour top-placed Benin (17 points, +5 goal difference), who will secure World Cup qualification with an away win over third-placed Nigeria (14 points).

If Benin draw, Bafana must beat Rwanda by two clear goals or more, to keep their World Cup dreams alive. The four best runners-up in nine groups go into a playoff, but there is only a rank outside chance of coach Hugo Broos’ South Africans being among those.

Speaking on the way to Mbombela from Durban, Foster insisted that there’s still lots to play for.

“Obviously it wasn’t the result we wanted. We believed we would get a different result, but it wasn’t to be,” Foster said. “It’s how it goes sometimes, we played really well, it was just unfortunate.” he said.

Written by: Ntsako Mukhari