The switching on of the Christmas lights in Adderley Street normally signals the start of the festive season in Cape Town.
But this year Bafana Bafana ushered in the season to be jolly in the Mother City by thumping a hapless South Sudan 3-0 in front of a packed and festive Cape Town Stadium crowd with a ruthless display of football.
The South Africans had already qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco before they had kicked a ball during this international break. Many thought they would maybe take their foot off the pedal because they had achieved their objective and their remaining matches against Uganda and South Sudan would be a bit of drab.
But this is a different Bafana under coach Hugo Broos with a different mentality. They wanted two wins to top the group and get a favourable seeding for the AFCON draw.
They went to Uganda last Friday and wiped the floor with the Cranes, before heading to Cape Town, where almost 50,000 came out to see their heroes for the first time in almost a decade.
