It has largely been a happy hunting ground, with seven wins and six draws in that time, and Bafana are unbeaten in their last 10 matches at the venue (six wins, four draws).
That single defeat came in a 2013 friendly against Zimbabwe, when a late Bernard Parker goal was not enough to prevent a 2-1 loss under coach Gordon Igesund.
It wasn’t until 2009 that Bafana played their first match at what is one of the spiritual homes of football in the country. That was a 1-0 win over Poland, with Terror Fanteni scoring the only goal.
They have played three qualifiers at the venue, all AFCON qualifiers, though not all have gone to plan. They beat Sudan 1-0 in 2019, were held to a 2-2 draw by Liberia in 2023 and also played to a 2-2 draw with Uganda in 2024.
Their most recent fixture at the ground was the disappointing 0-0 draw with Nicaragua in May.
Of Bafana’s seven wins at Orlando Stadium, six have been by 1-0 scorelines against Poland (2009), Zambia (2015), Senegal (2015), Egypt (2016), Sudan (2019) and DR Congo (2023), with the other a 3-2 victory over Uganda in 2021.
Ten different South African players have scored the 15 goals for the side at Orlando Stadium, but the most prolific by far is not in the current squad.
Lyle Foster is the leading scorer with four goals in five games there, followed by Mpho Makola and Evidence Makgopa, who have two each.
Eight of South Africa’s 15 goals have come in the first half and seven in the second half. Five goals have been scored in the 75th minute or later.
Bafana have failed to score in only three of their 14 matches, all of which ended 0-0.
Former coach Hugo Broos oversaw five games there, winning one and drawing four, while Itumeleng Khune, Bernard Parker and Lyle Foster share the highest number of appearances at the venue, with five each.
Aubrey Modiba, Themba Zwane and Sphephelo Sithole will match that tally if they play against Guinea this weekend.
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