Bafana Bafana suffered a 1-0 defeat by Morocco in their final Africa Cup of Nations Group D encounter. DYLAN APPOLIS explores what South Africa needs to qualify for the knockout round.

After getting their campaign off to a slow start against Ivory Coast with a 1-0 defeat at the Al-Salam Stadium, Bafana managed to secure a 1-0 victory over Namibia in the game to follow through a goal by goal.

Their victory over the Brave Warriors gave South Africa a chance to qualify for the round of 16, but their recent defeat by Morocco made their chances of qualifying slip through their fingers.

The result means that South African finished third in Group D with three points behind second-placed Ivory Coast, who beat Namibia 4-1 in their final group game on Monday.

With the tournament expanding from 16 to 24 teams, almost every team at the competition remains in with a chance. But the third-placed sides will have to wait – with their calculators in hand – to find out if they’re booking their place in the next round on Tuesday.

However, Bafana’s qualification for the knockout stages entirely depends on the results of Tuesday’s games in which Benin take on Cameroon, Guinea-Bissau face Ghana, Angola clash with Mali and Mauritania meet Tunisia.

Stuart Baxter’s men are currently third in the rankings for the best third-placed team behind second-placed DR Congo and first-placed Guinea. However, the likes of Benin and Angola are still within a chance of topping South Africa as they have a game in hand with two points each.