Bafana Bafana coach Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba says he is happy to meet Angola in the 2018 FIFA World Cup preliminary African Zone Round 2 qualifying rounds.

Bafana Bafana coach Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba says he is happy to meet Angola in the 2018 FIFA World Cup preliminary African Zone Round 2 qualifying rounds following the draw that was conducted in St Petersburg, Russia on Saturday.

South Africa has played in three World Cups since the country’s readmission into world football family in early 1990s but many believe the draw against fellow southern African Angola was a tough one.

“I think in all fairness, it was a fair draw. One could not have asked for a better draw than this one. We have played Angola on a number of occasions, although the outcomes were close, we have had an upper hand,” said Mashaba from Russia.

“It (draw) was more or less what we expected; you cannot reach the World Cup finals without facing tough teams. One thing for sure, we will prepare thoroughly against Angola; we won’t underestimate them,” added Mashaba.

Angola will host Bafana Bafana in Luanda on 11 October with the return leg expected in South Africa two weeks later.

Round 2 winners from Africa will then be drawn into 5 groups of 4 in which the winner of each group qualify for Russia 2018.

FULL AFRICA DRAW:

African Zone Draw

Round One

Match 1: Somalia-Niger
Match 2: South Sudan-Mauritania
Match 3: Gambia-Namibia
Match 4: Sao Tome e Principe-Ethiopia
Match 5: Chad-Sierra Leone
Match 6: Comoros-Lesotho
Match 7: Djibouti-Swaziland
Match 8: Eritrea-Botswana
Match 9: Seychelles-Burundi
Match 10: Liberia-Guinea-Bissau
Match 11: Central African Republic-Madagascar
Match 12: Mauritius-Kenya
Match 13: Tanzania-Malawi

Round Two

Match 1: Winner (Match 1)-Cameroon
Match 2: Winner (Match 2)-Tunisia
Match 3: Winner (Match 3)-Guinea
Match 4: Winner (Match 4)-Congo
Match 5: Winner (Match 5)-Egypt
Match 6: Winner (Match 6)-Ghana
Match 7: Winner (Match 7)-Nigeria
Match 8: Winner (Match 8)-Mali
Match 9: Winner (Match 9)-Congo DR
Match 10: Winner (Match 10)-Côte d’Ivoire
Match 11: Winner (Match 11)-Senegal
Match 12: Winner (Match 12)-Cape Verde Islands
Match 13: Winner (Match 13)-Algeria
Match 14: Sudan-Zambia
Match 15: Libya-Rwanda
Match 16: Morocco-Equatorial Guinea
Match 17: Mozambique-Gabon
Match 18: Benin-Burkina Faso
Match 19: Togo-Uganda
Match 20: Angola-South Africa