Bafana have lost only four of their last 16 away qualifiers, which bodes well for their attempt to reach the 2027 finals, which will be staged in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania from June 19 to July 17 next year.
Since the start of the 2015 AFCON qualifying campaign, they have won eight, drawn four and lost four on the road, with 27 goals scored and 18 conceded.
Bafana Bafana are currently on a four-match unbeaten run away from home in AFCON qualifying, taking 10 points from a possible 12 against Liberia (2-1), South Sudan (3-2), Congo (1-1) and Uganda (2-0).
Their last away defeat in an AFCON qualifier was against Morocco in June 2022, when they lost 2-1 after Lyle Foster had given them an early lead.
The current four-game away unbeaten sequence is one short of their best run of five consecutive away qualifiers without defeat, something they have managed twice, from 2000 to 2003 and from 2016 to 2019.
Overall, South Africa have played 43 away AFCON qualifiers, with a record of 17 wins, 13 draws and 13 defeats, scoring 53 goals and conceding 48.
They have therefore avoided defeat in 30 of their 43 away qualifiers (70%) and won 40% of them, no mean feat. They average 1.49 points per game on the road, which is a healthy return.
Bafana’s first-ever away AFCON qualifier was a difficult one, a 4-1 defeat to Zimbabwe in August 1992. Their first away qualifying victory came less than a year later, 3-1 against Mauritius in July 1993.
That 4-1 loss in Zimbabwe remains one of their three heaviest qualifying defeats. The others were 3-0 away to Zambia in 1993 and 3-0 away to Ghana in 2004.
Their biggest away qualifying victory was a 4-0 win against Gambia in 2016, when Thamsanqa Gabuza and Keagan Dolly both scored twice.
AFCON qualification
The qualification competition for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations takes place from September 2026 to March 2027. The 48 teams have been drawn into 12 groups, with the top two in each advancing to the 24-team finals. Hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda qualify automatically, but are still playing in the qualifiers; only one other team will advance from their groups.
AFCON qualifying fixtures | AFCON qualifying standings | African football news
Arguably their most impressive away result came in Nigeria in June 2017, when goals from Tokelo Rantie and Percy Tau secured a 2-0 AFCON qualifying victory in Uyo.
Bafana have never met Eritrea before and the minnow nation will become their 50th opponent from Africa.
But Eritrea showed in their 1-1 draw with Kenya in Nairobi at the weekend that they are no pushovers with a squad that is increasingly being drawn from their diaspora of players in Europe.