ADVERTISEMENT
Match starts!
Teams on the field
The teams are taking the field! Orlando Stadium is hosting the players from South Africa and Kenya for this African Cup of Nations qualifying match. Fans have high expectations for this game. The ball will be rolling any moment now.
Final field check ahead of South Africa vs Kenya
Players are on site at Orlando Stadium as South Africa and Kenya get ready for action in AFCON 2027 Qualifiers.
Substitutes - Kenya
1. Faruk Shikhalo (🧤), 18. Brian Bwire (🧤), 2. Brian Wesonga, 7. Mohammed Bajaber, 8. Chris Erambo, 9. Job Ochieng, 13. Ian Otieno, 15. Ryan Ogam, 17. Amos Nondi Obiero Omondi, 21. Zacchaeus Wilson, 22. Zech Obiero, 24. Vincent Harper.
Starting XI - Kenya
23. Byrne Omondi (🧤); 16. Rooney Onyango, 5. Frank Odhiambo, 4. Sylvester Owino, 3. Abud Omar; 10. William Lenkupae, 14. Michael Olunga, 19. Henry Ochieng; 12. Tyson Wanjala, 11. Adam Wilson, 20. Alwyn Tera.
Coach: Benni McCarthy
Substitutes - South Africa
16. Sipho Chaine (🧤), 22. Ricardo Goss (🧤), 5. Thalente Mbatha, 9. Lyle Foster, 11. Puso Dithejane, 14. Mbekezeli Mbokazi, 15. Bathusi Aubaas, 17. Luther Singh, 18. Samukele Kabini, 19. Cassius Mailula, 23. Thapelo Morena, 25. Tashreeq Matthews.
Starting XI - South Africa
1. Ronwen Williams (🧤); 2. Tholo Thabang Matuludi, 21. Ime Okon, 24. Olwethu Makhanya; 8. Tshepang Moremi, 13. Sphephelo Sithole, 4. Teboho Mokoena, 6. Aubrey Modiba; 7. Oswin Appollis, 10. Relebohile Mofokeng; 12. Iqraam Rayners.
Coach: Pitso Mosimane
Everything's ready at Orlando Stadium
Everything is ready at Orlando Stadium. The field is in good condition, and the stands are beginning to fill with fans who will be in attendance. The teams have already arrived at the venue where this game will take place.
How to watch South Africa vs Kenya and kickoff time
Kickoff at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. SAST, which is 16:00 GMT, 11:00 a.m. ET, 8:00 a.m. PT and 17:00 in Madrid.
Television rights for these qualifiers are sold country by country, so local listings are the best guide to who is showing it near you. VAVEL's live blog covers the whole game for everyone else.
Confirmed lineups arrive about an hour before kickoff, and then it is goals, cards and substitutions as they happen, followed by the updated group table after the final whistle.
Relebohile Mofokeng and Oswin Appollis lead the attack
The South African numbers point to two players. Relebohile Mofokeng has 2 goals in two matches and leads the team with 9 shots, while Oswin Appollis has 3 assists in two appearances.
Sphephelo Sithole has completed 129 accurate passes, the highest total in the squad, and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams has made 5 saves.
That is a balanced profile: a midfield that controls possession, a winger who creates and a forward who finishes. Mofokeng's 9 shots in two games also mean he is taking roughly four and a half per match, which is a heavy workload for a striker.
Group table: South Africa and Guinea level on 6 points
The standings show a two-horse race at the top. South Africa and Guinea both have 6 points, Eritrea have 1 and Kenya also have 1.
South Africa's two group wins came against Guinea (2-1 on Sept. 26) and Eritrea (5-0 away on Sept. 30), so Bafana Bafana have already beaten the other main contender in the group.
Kenya drew 1-1 with Eritrea at home and lost 1-0 at Guinea, which leaves them needing a result in Johannesburg to stay alive in the race for a place at the finals.
The averages show how different the two starts have been: South Africa have collected 3.0 points per game and scored 3.5 goals per game in the group, while Kenya have collected 0.5 points and scored one goal in two matches.
Bafana Bafana host Kenya at Orlando Stadium
Welcome to VAVEL's live coverage of South Africa vs Kenya in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Kickoff at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. local time (16:00 GMT, 11:00 a.m. ET and 17:00 in Madrid).
It is Matchday 3 in a group where South Africa has won both games for 6 points and Kenya has 1 point after a defeat and a draw. The market makes the hosts heavy favorites at -380, with the total at 2.5 goals.
We will bring lineups, goals and key moments as they happen.
What the result means for the group
A South African win would give Bafana Bafana 9 points after three matchdays and put them three clear of Guinea, who also have 6 points but from three games. A Kenyan win would move the visitors to 4 points and into direct contact with the top two.
With Guinea also on 6 points, every goal difference may matter at the end of the group, and South Africa's 5-0 win in Eritrea is already a useful asset.
Eritrea have 1 point from three games, so Kenya hold the same total in a tight bottom half of the table. Kenya have played two games, one fewer than Eritrea, so they have a game in hand on that rival.
Betting market: South Africa at -380 with 2.5 goals
The line puts South Africa as big favorites at -380, while the total sits at 2.5 goals.
The totals in South Africa's last five were 1, 1, 3, 5 and 1 goals, and Kenya's last five produced 2, 4, 2, 1 and 0, so it is a mixed picture.
The market expects the hosts to control the game, but Kenya's three draws in five matches show they know how to make the match uncomfortable.
In the same five matches, South Africa kept three clean sheets while Kenya failed to score in two, so the first goal separates a comfortable evening for the home side from a tense one, and Kenya's best route is to keep the score level into the second half.
Midfield control: Sithole's passing and Kenya's pressing
Sphephelo Sithole's 129 accurate passes show how much South Africa lean on him to move the ball from the back line into the final third.
Kenya's Frank Odhiambo leads the visitors with 80 accurate passes, a clear gap that shows the difference in possession between the sides so far.
That is why the first 20 minutes matter: if Kenya disrupt Sithole and keep the game in the middle third, they stay close to the home team.
The goalkeeper numbers tell a similar story: Ronwen Williams has needed 5 saves for South Africa, while Bryne Odhiambo has made 7 for Kenya, so the visitors' keeper has been busier in the same number of group matches.
Kenya's most dangerous player in the shot count is Ryan Ogam with 10, one more than Mofokeng's 9, which shows the Harambee Stars do get shooting opportunities even when results do not follow.
Kenya's last five: two draws, a heavy win and a narrow defeat in Guinea
Kenya drew 1-1 away to Lesotho on June 4, beat Lesotho 4-0 on June 7, drew 1-1 with Eritrea on Sept. 26, lost 1-0 at Guinea on Oct. 1 and drew 0-0 away to Rwanda on Oct. 5.
Ryan Ogam has a good and leads the squad with 10 shots, Ben Omondi has an assist and goalkeeper Bryne Odhiambo has made 7 saves.
The Harambee Stars have not lost heavily in this run, though they have scored only 6 goals in five games and none in two of them.
South Africa's last five: wins over Korea, Guinea, Eritrea and Egypt
Bafana Bafana have won four of their last five matches. They beat South Korea 1-0 on June 25, lost 1-0 to Canada on June 28, beat Guinea 2-1 on Sept. 26, thrashed Eritrea 5-0 on Sept. 30 and won 1-0 away to Egypt on Oct. 4.
That adds up to 9 goals scored and 2 conceded in those five games, with the 1-0 win in Egypt the standout result on the road.
The home match in Johannesburg is the next step in a run in which they have kept clean sheets in three of five.
Orlando Stadium in Soweto
The game is played at Orlando Stadium, in the Soweto area of Johannesburg, the traditional home of Orlando Pirates. For South Africa it is a familiar venue for international matches.
The 6:00 p.m. local start means the match begins in the early evening, and Bafana Bafana come in with the best form of the group.
Kenya have won only once in their last five and have drawn three, which tells us the visitors are organized, even if they have been short on goals. In their last five, they have conceded three goals in total, one in each of the two 1-1 draws and one in the 1-0 defeat at Guinea.
The match is underway! The referee blows his whistle to signal the start of play, and the South Africa vs. Kenya match on Matchday 3 of the African Cup of Nations qualifiers is now underway. We'll see which team comes out on top.