Bafana Bafana suffered a 1-0 defeat to Morocco in their final African Cup of Nations Group D encounter. DYLAN APPOLIS explores what South Africa needs to qualify for the knockout round.

After getting their campaign off to a slow start against Ivory Coast, where they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the Al-Salam Stadium, Bafana managed to secure a 1-0 victory over Namibia in the game to follow through a goal by goal.

Their victory over the Brave Warriors gave South Africa a chance to qualify for the Round of 16, but their recent defeat to Morocco saw their chances of qualifying slip through their fingers.

The result means that South African finished third in Group D with three points behind second place Ivory Coast, who beat Namibia 4-1 in their final group game on Monday.

With the tournament expanding from 16 to 24 teams, almost every team at the competition remains in with a chance. But the third-place sides will have to wait – with their calculators in tow – to find out if they’re booking their place in the next round on Tuesday.

However, Bafana’s qualification to the knockout stages entirely depends on the results of Tuesday’s game which sees Benin take on Cameroon, Guinea-Bissau face Ghana, Angola clash with Mali and Mauritania vs Tunisia.

Stuart Baxter’s men current third in the rankings for the best third-placed team behind second place DR Congo and first place Guinea. but the likes of Benin and Angola are still within a chance of topping South Africa as they have a game in hand with two points each.