Bafana Bafana will seek to follow up their home win over Guinea with three points on the road as they face Eritrea in Cairo on Wednesday.
Samukele Kabini scored a 77th minute winner after Seydouba Cisse had cancelled out Ime Okon's opener on Saturday.
Eritrea drew 1-1 to Kenya in the other Saturday Group D qualifier, allowing South Africa to pick up a two-point lead at the top of the table.
Two teams advance from each qualifying group to the tournament in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania next year. However, Kenya will be one of the two from Group D regardless of their final position. As a result, there is only one spot on offer between South Africa, Guinea and Eritrea.
Bafana took the first step towards claiming it in what was the first game of Pitso Mosimane's second stint in charge of the national team. Now, they will seek to consolidate their position in their first away match of the qualifiers.
The match is taking place on neutral ground in Egypt due to hosts Eritrea lacking a CAF-compliant venue. South Africa will remain in Cairo after the match to take on Egypt in a friendly on Oct. 4.
Key details
Date: Wednesday, Sep. 30 at 7 p.m. in Cairo (6 p.m. SAST, 5 p.m. BST)
Venue: Al Stadium, Cairo
How to watch: SABC and SuperSport are scheduled to air the match for viewers in South Africa. ESPN will provide live updates on our digital platforms.
Team news
Centre-back Mbekezeli Mbokazi, right-back Khuliso Mudau and midfielder Lebo Maboe are key injury absentees for Bafana.
Mosimane has acknowledged that he is still seeking to help the team play together and has urged left winger Oswin Appollis to tuck in when left-back Aubrey Modiba bombs forward.
However, after how well Samukele Kabini fared off the bench, there is no guarantee that Modiba will start, while Appollis is capable of switching wings if needed in any case. In fairness, there are very few starting spots, if any, that are guaranteed at this point as Mosimane attempts to find his groove with a team he only recently inherited.
Expected lineups
Eritrea
GK Yonathan Sultan
LB Jonas Idris | CB Namrud Embaye | CB Jamal Ali | RB Victor Fors
CM Nahom Girmai | CM Tesfaldet Tekie
LW Filimon Gerezgiher | AM Ablelom Teklezgi | RW Esrom Yohannes
ST Ali Sulieman
South Africa
LB Samukele Kabini | CB Olwethu Makhanya | CB Ime Okon | RB Kamogelo Sebelebele
CM Teboho Mokoena | CM Sphephelo Sithole
LW Luther Singh | AM Relebohile Mofokeng | RW Oswin Appollis
ST Yanela Mbuthuma
Stats
The 2-1 win over Guinea was only South Africa's 2nd win in 10 matches in 2026 after they went winless in the first 7.
Kamogelo Sebelebele won 6 tackles for Bafana Bafana in his Man-of-the-Match display against Guinea.