South African publication, Sowetan Live, has reported that the Lesotho Football Association has confirmed it has sent a query to FIFA over the yellow cards accumulated by Bafana Bafana midfielder Teboho Mokoena in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

If Lesotho’s prayers are heard, the match will be forfeited by South Africa with three points deducted and three goals conceded.

Should that happen, following the Match Day 6 results, South Africa’s point haul will be reduced to 10, but will still retain the top position.

Lesotho in the fifth position, with six points, will jump to the second position with nine points.

Last week, South Africa fielded Mokoena in the match which the hosts won 2-0. The fielding of the player is a breach of the regulations for the World Cup qualifying series.

Nigeria currently at fourth with seven points, will sink to the fifth position, taking the place to be vacated by Lesotho.

Mokoena was not listed by South Africa in their Tuesday’s game with Benin Republic.

Mokoena was booked in Bafana’s opening match against Benin in 2023, and the fourth qualifier against Zimbabwe last year, meaning he should have served an automatic one-match ban, according to FIFA’s rule 63 governing World Cup qualifiers.

“The question is, was a rule broken? If yes, we are fully entitled to protest and get the points.

“We were made aware of Mokoena’s bookings and we have since sent a formal inquiry to CAF and FIFA,”  the Lesotho FA secretary-general Mokhosi Mohapi was quoted by South Africa’s Sowetan Live as saying.

Continuing, the publication quoted the Lesotho FA secretary as saying that:

“We have heard that Nigeria also want to protest and they too are entitled to that because the result (last Friday) prejudices everyone.

“Suppose it was us who fielded a defaulter and got the points, Bafana would have done the same.”

Mohapi was further quoted as saying that  South Africa could not expect to use proximity to Lesotho as a basis not to file a protest.

“Unfortunately, the law is the law and SAFA (South Africa Football Association) should have known about the bookings. We have no hard feelings. We want those points.”

Mokoena – who was curiously missing from the lineup which faced Benin on Tuesday – was booked on the stroke of halftime in Bafana’s Group C against Benin in November 2023, which ended 2-1 in South Africa’s favour, and again in November 2024 against Zimbabwe, when South Africa won 3-1.

That, according to FIFA rules, meant he should not have been eligible for last week’s match.

The likelihood of Bafana losing the points from last week is high, given previous cases.

In 2013, Botswana protested against Ethiopia for having used a player who had accumulated two bookings in their qualifier. FIFA stepped in and awarded a 3-0 win to Botswana.

On claims that Lesotho should have protested 24 hours after the match, Mohapi stated: “There’s no such. If the protest is valid, FIFA will look into it. We are awaiting their response.”

In 2017, Nigeria’s last World Cup duel with Algeria ended 1-1. Even without any protest by Algeria, FIFA intervened and awarded the match to Algeria on account of Nigeria fielding an ineligible player, Shehu Abdulahi who had had two yellow cards before the match.

According to South Africa’s  Sowetan Live, a source close to SAFA blamed “administrative incompetence” for Mokoena taking to the field when he should not have. “The team manager should have notified the coach (Hugo Broos) that Mokoena has two yellows. He was not supposed to play.”

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As it happened to the Super Eagles on the road to the Russia 2018 World Cup, South Africa may suffer match forfeiture for fielding an ineligible player in their last 2026 World Cup qualifying match last week against Lesotho.

South Africa won the match 2-0, but the Group C leaders may forfeit the match for fielding a player who had been cautioned twice before the match.

The player in question is Teboho Mokoena who was issued a yellow card in South Africa’s opening match with Benin in November 2023 and then in the match day 4 encounter with Zimbabwe last year June.

In the match against the Benin Republic on 18 November 2023, Teboho Mokoena was given a yellow card by Sudanese referee, Mahmood Ismail in the 54th minute. Again in the match with Zimbabwe Mokoena also got cautioned by Egyptian referee Mohamed Maarouf Eid Mansour in the 52nd minute.

The player was fielded last week in the 2-0 defeat of Lesotho. South Africa currently leads Group C with 10 points. Should the match be ruled as forfeiture, South Africa’s total will drop to seven while fifth-placed Lesotho, currently with five points will rise to eight points.

It was in similar circumstances that Nigeria fielded an ineligible Shehu Abdullahi against Algeria on 10 November 2017.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw but was overturned by FIFA and Algeria was awarded a 3-0 win.

Nigeria’s Abdullahi Shehu played in this game even though he should have been suspended for picking up yellow cards in two previous qualifiers.

The defender was cautioned in the Super Eagles 1-0 win over Zambia in October that sealed Nigeria’s spot in Russia, having been shown a yellow card in the first leg of their second-round tie against Swaziland in November 2015. The Nigeria Football Federation was also fined $10,000 for the oversight.

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Jordan Zemura, the Italia Serie A Udinese player who assisted in the two goals Zimbabwe scored against Benin Republic is the man that the Warriors of Zimbabwe will rely on in the Group C World Cup qualifying match with Nigeria this Tuesday.

He is believed to be very familiar with the strength and skills of Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen.

He had encountered both players in club games in Italy. Lookman plays for Atalanta and Osimhen was previously with Napoli.

Zemura is guaranteed a starting position in the match with Nigeria. However, according to information gleaned from local newspapers in Harare, the role to be assigned to him is not clear.

He himself told a Zimbabwean journalist currently in Uyo that his team would attempt to neutralise the dangerous combination of Lookman and Osimhen.

“Lookman at Atalanta is a very talented player. We also know that Osimhen is one of the best strikers in the world,”  Zemura is quoted by Zimbabwe’s The Herald as saying.

“So playing against them atclub football is also very difficult. There is a lot of focus on these players because of how good they are and how effective they are in games.”

For that reason, coach Michael Nees may be forced to consider Nigeria’s quality in attack and its abilities which come with devastating effects against any African opposition.
 The thinking in the Zimbabwean camp is to make defender, Divine Lunga attempt to pocket either Osimhen or Lookman.

The choice of the defender is premised on his perceived ability to cope with possible relentless Super Eagles attack

Zemura will be asked to take up one of the attacking places. According to Zimbabwean analysts,  Tawanda Chirewa, Tawanda Maswanhise, and Walter Musona all started on the bench.

The analysis went further that Zemura is unlikely to be intimidated by Nigeria’s attack.

Against Rwanda, Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen led the attack, and Moses Simon and Samuel Chukwueze added to the danger down the flanks.

Zemura, according to reports,  said he was ready to play wherever Coach Nees decided to play him, for as long as it helped the team for good results.

“Since I have been here with the Warriors, I have been playing everywhere, from left back, to central midfield, up front. So, yeah. I feel comfortable doing that and I quite enjoy it,” he said.

“The one thing that my father used to tell me when I was young was to be versatile and be able to play in many different positions.

“And also to feel comfortable in any position that you are asked to play so you can help the team in different ways,” said Zemura.

Zemura speaks from a position of authority, having faced Atalanta’s Lookman while Osimhen was at Napoli when the Zimbabwean joined Udinese for the 2023/24 season.

Although Lookman mostly plays wide on the left at Atalanta, his position in Nigeria’s attack means he can easily drift wide right as they seek to harm the Warriors.

“Both these players are very effective and it’s gonna be a challenge to keep them quiet. But we are ready for that challenge, and we will do everything that we can,” said Zemura.

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