March 27, (THEWILL)- Algeria and South Africa produced a pulsating 3-3 draw in their international friendly clash at the Nelson Mandela Stadium, in Algiers, on Tuesday. The ‘Fifa Series’ fixture was an early contender for game of the year, with both sides displaying their attacking quality before sharing the spoils.
Yassine Benzia was the star of the show, opening the scoring for the Desert Foxes in the 22nd minute with a sublime strike through the legs of Grant Kekana. South Africa hit back through a Themba Zwane brace before halftime to lead 2-1. Zwane’s second was a solo wonder goal as he cut inside from the byline before firing home left-footed.
The second half was just as entertaining, with Yacine Brahimi equalising for 2-2 after a Ronwen Williams error. Substitute Elias Mokwana then put Bafana 3-2 up on 66 minutes with a deflected effort. Still, Benzia had the last laugh, flicking up a pass and scoring with an outrageous left-footed overhead volley to make it 3-3 in the 70th minute.
Both teams had chances to win it late on, but had to settle for a share of the spoils in an end-to-end contest. The focus now shifts to 2026 World Cup qualifiers, with Algeria facing Guinea and Uganda in June, while South Africa take on Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
