8 October 2011 - Sometimes, It Helps To Read The Rules In Advance

On 8 October 2011, South Africa played to a scoreless draw with Sierra Leone, thinking the result qualified them for the African Cup of Nations. They were wrong.

It was the final match for both teams in Group G of the tournament's qualifying stage, with South Africa starting the day one point behind group leaders Niger, who were playing Egypt at the same time South Africa faced off against Sierra Leone.

With the latter two locked in a scoreless draw midway through the second half, South Africa received news that Niger had fallen behind Egypt by the score of 3-0. If the scores held, South Africa and Niger would finish level on points, but South Africa would have a goal differential of +2 to Niger's -2. Content to play for the draw, South African boss Pitso Mosimane made a late substitution, bringing on a midfielder in place of a striker. And, when the match ended 0-0, the South Africans celebrated the result with a dance and a lap of honor before their exultant fans.

What they failed to realize, however, was that goal differential did not serve as the tie-breaker. Instead, the rules of the tournament provided that teams level on points were to be ranked by their head-to-head record against each other. That metric favored Niger.

South Africa lodged a protest, claiming that goal differential should have been the deciding factor, but later dropped their appeal. Niger advanced to the Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stage after losing all three matches.

18 June 1988 - Benni Turns On The Jets

On 18 June 1998, striker Benni McCarthy scored South Africa's first-ever World Cup goal to earn a draw with Denmark.

The 1998 World Cup was the first one for which South Africa had qualified and they were placed in Group C with France, Denmark, and Saudi Arabia. They failed to score in their opening match, a 3-0 loss to France, though one of the goals was an own goal from South African defender Pierre Issa. 

Their second match of the tournament came against Denmark, played before a crowd of 33,300 at the Stade de Toulouse. It appeared to be headed the same way as the first match, as Denmark's Allan Nielsen scored a 13th-minute opener. But South Africa's defense tightened up and prevented any further goals. Then, in the 52nd minute, McCarthy struck. He split two Danish defenders, then fired the ball between the legs of goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. It struck the inside of Schmeichel's left leg, then deflected into the net.

The match finished 1-1 to earn South Africa their first World Cup point. They earned another in their next match, a 2-2 draw with South Africa with both goals coming from striker Shaun Bartlett. But it wasn't enough to advance past the group stage.

McCarthy's goal was the 9th of his international career. He is currently their highest scorer, with a total of 32.

10 February 1957 - Three Nations To A Cup

On 10 February 1957, Egypt won the inaugural match of the Africa Cup of Nations, beating Sudan by the score of 1-2 at Sudan's Khartoum Stadium. The win put the visiting Egyptian side right into the Final, as only four teams had been invited to participate and one was disqualified before ever playing a match.

The Cup of Nations was organized by the fledgling Confederation of African Football, itself formally established just earlier that month. At that time, the CAF had only four members--Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Sudan--and expected that all four would participate in the Cup. The South Africans, however, still under a policy of apartheid, refused to send a mixed-race side to the tournament and were disqualified as a result. South Africa's expulsion meant that their scheduled opponents, Ethiopia, received a bye in the semifinals and automatically qualified for the Final.

In the one semifinal match that was played, Egypt took an early lead with a 21st-minute penalty kick from center forward Raafat Ateya. Sudan equalized shortly after the break with a goal from Siddiq Manzul in the 58th minute before Egypt's Mohamed Diab El-Attar ("Al-Diba") put his side ahead for good in the 72nd minute.

The Final was never in doubt, as Egypt rolled to a 4-0 win. All four goals came from Al-Diba, making him the tournament's highest scorer.

The tournament is played every two years and has since expanded to 16 teams, who are determined by qualification rounds involving all 54 CAF members. Egypt has remained the most successful nation, with seven titles in nine Final appearances, including an unprecedented three consecutive titles in 2006, 2008, and 2010.

16 August 1997 - The Bafana Bafana Play With The Big Boys

On 16 August 1997, South Africa beat Congo 1-0 at Soccer City (pictured) in Johannesburg. With the win, South Africa qualified for its first World Cup Finals ever. It was also the first time that any team from the southern part of Africa qualified for the Finals.

The victory was significant for the young Bafana Bafana, whose racially-unified team had been established only five years prior and were now pushing for the top of African football as one of only five sides qualifying from the CAF.

Their trip to the World Cup was short-lived, however, as a loss (to France, 3-0) and two draws (with Denmark, 1-1, and Saudi Arabia, 2-2) placed them third in their group and prevented them from advancing to the knockout rounds.

3 July 1992 - Welcome Bafana Bafana!

On 3 July 1992, FIFA welcomed South Africa back into the international football fold after a ban of almost 31 years.

The Football Association of South Africa was founded in 1892, but was limited to whites only, due to the country's policy of racial segregation known as apartheid. In 1957, South Africa was invited to join the Confederation of African Football, along with Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan, but was expelled in 1958 over the other countries' objections to apartheid. 

Also in 1958, South Africa was admitted to FIFA, but was suspended on 26 September 1961, again due to apartheid. Shortly afterward, FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous argued for South Africa's readmission, claiming that the suspension would irrevocably harm the development of South African football and that FIFA had no business in political matters.

FIFA lifted the suspension in January 1963, but reimposed it in October 1964. They formally expelled South Africa in 1976 after the Soweto uprising, in which South African police killed 23 protesters.

In 1991, as racial barriers in South Africa began to fall, the FASA was replaced by the integrated South African Football Association. The new association was admitted to FIFA on 3 July 1992 and, on 7 July 1992, the unified South African national team, nicknamed the Bafana Bafana (Zulu for "the Boys"), played their first match, defeating Cameroon 1-0.

8 October 2011 - Sometimes, It Helps To Read The Rules In Advance

On 8 October 2011, South Africa played to a scoreless draw with Sierra Leone, thinking the result qualified them for the African Cup of Nations. They were wrong.

It was the final match for both teams in Group G of the tournament's qualifying stage, with South Africa starting the day one point behind group leaders Niger, who were playing Egypt at the same time South Africa faced off against Sierra Leone.

With the latter two locked in a scoreless draw midway through the second half, South Africa received news that Niger had fallen behind Egypt by the score of 3-0. If the scores held, South Africa and Niger would finish level on points, but South Africa would have a goal differential of +2 to Niger's -2. Content to play for the draw, South African boss Pitso Mosimane made a late substitution, bringing on a midfielder in place of a striker. And, when the match ended 0-0, the South Africans celebrated the result with a dance and a lap of honor before their exultant fans.

What they failed to realize, however, was that goal differential did not serve as the tie-breaker. Instead, the rules of the tournament provided that teams level on points were to be ranked by their head-to-head record against each other. That metric favored Niger.

South Africa lodged a protest, claiming that goal differential should have been the deciding factor, but later dropped their appeal. Niger advanced to the Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stage after losing all three matches.

18 June 1988 - Benni Turns On The Jets

On 18 June 1998, striker Benni McCarthy scored South Africa's first-ever World Cup goal to earn a draw with Denmark.

The 1998 World Cup was the first one for which South Africa had qualified and they were placed in Group C with France, Denmark, and Saudi Arabia. They failed to score in their opening match, a 3-0 loss to France, though one of the goals was an own goal from South African defender Pierre Issa.

Their second match of the tournament came against Denmark, played before a crowd of 33,300 at the Stade de Toulouse. It appeared to be headed the same way as the first match, as Denmark's Allan Nielsen scored a 13th-minute opener. But South Africa's defense tightened up and prevented any further goals. Then, in the 52nd minute, McCarthy struck. He split two Danish defenders, then fired the ball between the legs of goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. It struck the inside of Schmeichel's left leg, then deflected into the net.

The match finished 1-1 to earn South Africa their first World Cup point. They earned another in their next match, a 2-2 draw with South Africa with both goals coming from striker Shaun Bartlett. But it wasn't enough to advance past the group stage.

McCarthy's goal was the 9th of his international career. He is currently their highest scorer, with a total of 31.

10 February 1957 - Three Nations To A Cup

On 10 February 1957, Egypt won the inaugural match of the African Cup of Nations, beating Sudan by the score of 1-2 at Sudan's Khartoum Stadium. The win put the visiting Egyptian side right into the Final, as only four teams had been invited to participate and one was disqualified before ever playing a match.

The Cup of Nations was organized by the fledgling Confederation of African Football, itself formally established just earlier that month. At that time, the CAF had only four members--Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Sudan--and expected that all four would participate in the Cup. The South Africans, however, still under a policy of aparthied, refused to send a mixed-race side to the tournament and were disqualified as a result. South Africa's expulsion meant that their scheduled opponents, Ethiopia, received a bye in the semifinals and automatically qualified for the Final.

In the one semifinal match that was played, Egypt took an early lead with a 21st-minute penalty kick from center forward Raafat Ateya. Sudan equalized shortly after the break with a goal from Siddiq Manzul in the 58th minute before Egypt's Mohamed Diab El-Attar ("Al-Diba") put his side ahead for good in the 72nd minute.

The Final was never in doubt, as Egypt rolled to a 4-0 win. All four goals came from Al-Diba, making him the tournament's highest scorer.

The tournament is played every two years and has since expanded to 16 teams, who are determined by qualification rounds involving all 54 CAF members. Egypt has remained the most successful nation, with seven titles in nine Final appearances, including an unprecedented three consecutive titles in 2006, 2008, and 2010.

16 August 1997 - The Bafana Bafana Play With The Big Boys

On 16 August 1997, South Africa beat Congo 1-0 at Soccer City (pictured) in Johannesburg. With the win, South Africa qualified for its first World Cup Finals ever. It was also the first time that any team from the southern part of Africa qualified for the Finals.

The victory was significant for the young Bafana Bafana, whose racially-unified team had been established only five years prior and were now pushing for the top of African football as one of only five sides qualifying from the CAF.

Their trip to the World Cup was short-lived, however, as a loss (to France, 3-0) and two draws (with Denmark, 1-1, and Saudi Arabia, 2-2) placed them third in their group and prevented them from advancing to the knockout rounds.

3 July 1992 - Welcome, Bafana Bafana!

On 3 July 1992, FIFA welcomed South Africa back into the international football fold after a ban of almost 31 years.

The Football Association of South Africa was founded in 1892, but was limited to whites only, due to the country's policy of racial segregation known as apartheid. In 1957, South Africa was invited to join the Confederation of African Football, along with Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan, but was expelled in 1958 over the other countries' objections to apartheid.

Also in 1958, South Africa was admitted to FIFA, but was suspended on 26 September 1961, again due to apartheid. Shortly afterward, FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous argued for South Africa's readmission, claiming that the suspension would irrevocably harm the development of South African football and that FIFA had no business in political matters.

FIFA lifted the suspension in January 1963, but reimposed it in October 1964. They formally expelled South Africa in 1976 after the Soweto uprising, in which South African police killed 23 protesters.

In 1991, as racial barriers in South Africa began to fall, the FASA was replaced by the integrated South African Football Association. The new association was admitted to FIFA on 3 July 1992 and, on 7 July 1992, the unified South African national team, nicknamed the Bafana Bafana (Zulu for "the Boys"), played their first match, defeating Cameroon 1-0.