Bafana Bafana's 2018 World Cup qualifying hopes are hanging by a thread after yet another shock defeat to Cape Verde last night.

Garry Rodrigues's thumping free kick early in the second half and another stunner from the winger in the 67th minute was enough to silence the home crowd.

The 2-1 victory for the Islanders pushed South Africa to the bottom of the group after Burkina Faso and Senegal drew 2-2 last night.

Bafana had promised a better showing after disappointing in the 2-1 defeat in Praia last Friday and the nation had rallied behind them.

There was hope, because for one, Bafana rarely lose at Moses Mabhida but it all changed last night.

Bafana showed early promise by taking the game to the visitors, dominated possession and looked on course to redeem themselves.

On the other hand, the Blue Sharks were happy to absorb the pressure and watch Hlompho Kekana's couple of long-range shots fail to hit the target.

The closest Bafana came to getting a goal was eight minutes before the interval when Kekana's free kick sailed just over the bar.

Credit to the fans, they were still in full voice by the half-time break even though Bafana didn't look like a team scoring despite playing with two strikers - Tokelo Rantie and Bradley Grobler.

The second half kicked off with the crowd expecting goals from Bafana.

It wasn't to be, though. Cape Verde weren't going to roll over and get a beating. And so the wheels came off for Bafana when many least expected it.

Rodrigues's free kick was too powerful for Wayne Sandilands and the visitors were in the lead just seven minutes into the second half.

His thunderous strike after the hour-mark was just as good and this time, even the home fans were stunned into silence.

Cape Verde had had enough of defending and showed they were ready for a fight.

Bafana coach Stuart Baxter made some changes, bringing in the likes of Lebogang Manyama, Andile Jali and Percy Tau, but the damage had already been done.

Jali's late strike gave the nation some hope, but it was too little too late to even get a draw.

Bafana will live to rue the two consecutive defeats in their qualifying campaign. It's no longer in their hands.