Fifa will review South Africa’s defeat by Ghana in 2022 World Cup qualifying after the South Africa Football Association (Safa) made a complaint to the world governing body, BBC Sport reports. 

Bafana Bafana needed a draw against the West Africans on Sunday to reach the third and final round of African qualifying, but Ghana won 1-0 with a controversial first-half penalty in Cape Coast.

Safa chief executive Tebogo Mothlante said South Africa were “robbed” by “questionable decisions” made by the Senegalese officiating team, which was headed by referee Maguette Ndiaye.

The pivotal moment came when Black Stars midfielder Daniel Amartey went down following what appeared minimal contact from defender Rushine de Reuck, who was booked for his challenge.

The result meant Ghana finished above South Africa in Group G on goals scored and progressed to Africa’s play-offs next March.

“The match officials have decided the game, which is not what is supposed to happen,” Mothlante added.

A statement said: “Fifa has received a complaint from the South African FA in relation to this matter and will review it.”

South Africa believe a precedent was set five years ago when Bafana Bafana were forced to replay a 2018 World Cup qualifier after a referee was found guilty of match manipulation which benefited them.

Bafana Bafana had originally beaten Senegal 2-1, but Fifa later concluded that Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey “clearly took two wrong decisions” to facilitate “a minimum number of goals to make certain bets successful”.

The errors included the award of a penalty when Senegal’s Kalidou Koulibaly was adjudged to have handled the ball, despite replays showing it had hit his knee.

Fifa took the unusual step of ordering the game to be replayed. South Africa lost 2-0 as Senegal qualified for the World Cup in Russia.

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Group C Liberia 0-2 Nigeria – Cape Verde 2-1 Central African Republic

Only a draw will be enough for Nigeria to reach the final round of the World Cup qualifiers after the Super Eagles 2-0 win over Liberia on Saturday. In Group D, Cameroon must beat the Ivory Coast in Douala on Tuesday to secure their place in the playoffs rounds.

Goals from Victor Osimhen and Ahmed Musa ensure Nigeria takes control over the Lone Stars at the Stade Ibn Batouta, Tangier.

As a result, the Super Eagles, who will host Cape Verde, in a top-of-the-table Group C clash on Tuesday, only need a point to book their place in the final round of Qatar 2022 qualifiers.

The win over Liberia gave Nigeria 12 points and Cape Verde 10 after five rounds, while the Central African Republic (four) and Liberia (three) are out of the running.

Group B Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Tunisia

Hosts Equatorial Guinea stunned fancied Tunisia with a 1-0 win in Malabo with a late goal from Pablo Ganet, who plays in the fourth tier of Spanish club football.

The two countries are on 10 points in Group B. However, Tunisia has a better goal advantage and will take on Zambia at home on Tuesday while Equatorial Guinea lock horns with Mauritania away at the same time. 

Group D Ivory Coast 3-0 Mozambique – Malawi 0-4 Cameroon

Ivory Coast will take on Cameroon in a top of table encounter in the final group match in Douala on Tuesday and must avoid a defeat to progress to the next stage of the competition. 

Cameroon was superb against 10-man Malawi in Johannesburg on Saturday first-half goals from captain Vincent Aboubakar and Franck Zambo Anguissa. A late brace from Christian Bassogog handed Cameroon a 4-0 victory while Ivory Coast thrashed Mozambique in Cotonou on Saturday.

Egypt, Mali, Morocco and Senegal have already secured their places in the play-offs. The five to represent Africa in Qatar are to be decided in the final round. 

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Group A Djibouti 0-4 Algeria – Burkina Faso 1-1 Niger

Algeria proved too strong again for Djibouti as they extended their unbeaten run to 32 games win a 4-0 at Cairo International Stadium in Egypt on Friday in their 2022 World Cup qualifier.

However, the reigning African champions, who scored 12 goals over two legs against Djibouti, will only need to avoid a defeat at home against Burkina Faso on November 16 for a place in the final round of playoffs.

Youcef Belaili opened the scoring for Algeria in the 29th minute, before Mohamed Benrahma doubled their advantage in the 40th minute. Sofiane Feghouli and Islam Slimani wrapped the win in the 42nd and 86th minutes, respectively.

Elsewhere in the group, Niger held second-placed Burkina Faso to a 1-1 draw. Visitors Niger scored first in the 34th minute through Youssef Oumanou’s penalty before Issoufou Dayo’s 55th-minute penalty levelled things up ten minutes after the break.

Group F Angola 2-2 Egypt – Gabon 1-0 Libya

The Pharaohs of Egypt survived after coming from two goals down in Luanda on Friday to ensure a 2-2 draw against hosts Angola.

As a result, they booked a play-off final round qualification spot to the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Group I Sudan 0-3 Morocco – Guinea 0-0 Guinea-Bissau

After five straight wins, already qualified Morocco will take on Guinea on Tuesday in their final group game.

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