South Africa overcame the embarrassment of a three-point deduction in their World Cup qualifying campaign to finish top of their group on Tuesday and qualify for next year’s finals, although they had Nigeria partially to thank for the progress.
South Africa beat Rwanda 3-0 in Nelspruit to finish first in Group C as Benin, who had a two-point lead going into the final round of fixtures, tumbled from top place to third in the standings as they lost 4-0 to the Super Eagles in Uyo.
South Africa finished on 18 points, with Nigeria runners up ahead of Benin on goal difference as both ended with 17 points.
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