Under-23 coach Owen da Gama must now plan for a date with Zimbabwe next month in a two legged contest that will determine which of the two neighbouring countries will proceed to the CAF Under-23 Championships in Senegal late this year.
The eight-team tournament in Senegal – running from November 28 to December 12 – will double up as a qualifier for the Olympics, with the top three heading to South America while the fourth placed team will be involved in Play-Offs with an Asian representative.
Da Gama has already indicated his desire to qualify for the Olympics, despite the fact that he has already failed to qualify for the 2015 All Africa Games after being bundled out by Sudan in April.
Zimbabwe will host the first leg over the weekend of July 17-19 before the return leg in South Africa two weeks later.
South Africa hasn’t been involved in the earlier rounds of qualification after their qualifier against Senegal was scrapped when the West Africans replaced DR Congo as hosts, which meant the Senegalese are already guaranteed of their place as hosts.
Fourteen countries will do battle in the same third round of qualifiers that will determine the seven finalists that will join the hosts Senegal.