THERE will be some significance to Bafana Bafana's friendly international in Morocco next month as it will mark the 300th time the team has taken to the field to represent the country.
The match on October 11 in Agadir City will be a good early test of conditions for Bafana, should they qualify, ahead of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations to be played in Morocco.
But it will also be a major milestone for a side that has enjoyed a roller-coaster ride of success and failure since readmission to international football in 1992.
The country's first ever international was played against Cameroon on July 7 of that year and ended in a 1-0 victory as a late Doctor Khumalo penalty settled the match in favour of the home side in Durban.
It would take the side seven years to reach a century of matches, with their 100th a 2-1 loss to Republic of Ireland in the Nike Cup in the US in June 2000. Shaun Bartlett got Bafana's goal that day.
And almost seven years to the day they played their 200th, a thumping 4-0 victory over Chad in a 2008 Afcon qualifier that was played in June 2007.
Sibusiso Zuma scored a brace, Nasief Morris netted a penalty and Siyabonga Nomvethe added a fourth in the second half as Bafana cruised to a resounding victory.
It will now be just over six years from that day when the team reaches its 300th match, an illustration that the number of matches the side has been playing over that period has increased from the earlier years of the side.
Bafana have won 130 of their previous 299 games, with 87 defeats and 82 draws. They have scored 358 goals in that time and conceded 282.
They have played marginally more games away from home - 152 to 147 in SA, with their home record reading 82 wins, 37 draws and just 28 losses. They have scored 203 goals and conceded 98.
Bafana's biggest victory since readmission was a 5-0 hammering of Guatemala prior to the 2010 Fifa World Cup, a match that has since come under the spotlight over allegations of match-fixing, while their heaviest defeats have been 4-0 losses to Nigeria [twice], USA and Mexico.
The country's longest unbeaten run was 15 matches from September 1994 to January 1996 - when they were defeated by Ruud Krol's Egypt - but still went on to lift the Afcon trophy on home soil.
That remains Bafana's greatest triumph to date.
Bafana Bafana to play 300th game
THERE will be some significance to Bafana Bafana's friendly international in Morocco next month as it will mark the 300th time the team has taken to the field to represent the country.
The match on October 11 in Agadir City will be a good early test of conditions for Bafana, should they qualify, ahead of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations to be played in Morocco.
But it will also be a major milestone for a side that has enjoyed a roller-coaster ride of success and failure since readmission to international football in 1992.
The country's first ever international was played against Cameroon on July 7 of that year and ended in a 1-0 victory as a late Doctor Khumalo penalty settled the match in favour of the home side in Durban.
It would take the side seven years to reach a century of matches, with their 100th a 2-1 loss to Republic of Ireland in the Nike Cup in the US in June 2000. Shaun Bartlett got Bafana's goal that day.
And almost seven years to the day they played their 200th, a thumping 4-0 victory over Chad in a 2008 Afcon qualifier that was played in June 2007.
Sibusiso Zuma scored a brace, Nasief Morris netted a penalty and Siyabonga Nomvethe added a fourth in the second half as Bafana cruised to a resounding victory.
It will now be just over six years from that day when the team reaches its 300th match, an illustration that the number of matches the side has been playing over that period has increased from the earlier years of the side.
Bafana have won 130 of their previous 299 games, with 87 defeats and 82 draws. They have scored 358 goals in that time and conceded 282.
They have played marginally more games away from home - 152 to 147 in SA, with their home record reading 82 wins, 37 draws and just 28 losses. They have scored 203 goals and conceded 98.
Bafana's biggest victory since readmission was a 5-0 hammering of Guatemala prior to the 2010 Fifa World Cup, a match that has since come under the spotlight over allegations of match-fixing, while their heaviest defeats have been 4-0 losses to Nigeria [twice], USA and Mexico.
The country's longest unbeaten run was 15 matches from September 1994 to January 1996 - when they were defeated by Ruud Krol's Egypt - but still went on to lift the Afcon trophy on home soil.
That remains Bafana's greatest triumph to date.
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