2014 FIFA World Cup
South Africa received a First Round bye when the qualifying process for the 2014 FIFA World Cup got underway on 30 July 2011. For the Second Round of the qualifying process, South Africa was placed in Pot 1 as a top-seeded nation for the draw from where they were drawn into Group A, along with neighbours Botswana, the Central African Republic and Ethiopia. South Africa opened their qualifying campaign with a dismal performance, struggling to overcome a one-goal deficit in a 1-1 home draw with Ethiopia, a nation ranked nearly 70 places below them. This result, coupled with the less than inspiring string of results that had seen South Africa winless in the past 6 outings that preceded it, resulted in the sacking of head coach Pitso Mosimane. Under interim head coach Steve Khompela, South Africa played out to yet another uninspiring 1-1 draw, this time away to Botswana. On 30 June 2012, Gordon Igesund was appointed as the new head coach.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethiopia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 |
| Central African Republic | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| South Africa | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Botswana | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 |
Read more about this topic: South Africa National Football Team, History
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