Lyle Foster scored one and set up another as South Africa beat Lesotho in an 'away' game which was actually held in Bloemfontein
South Africa beat Lesotho 3-0 to preserve their lead at the top of their qualifying group for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
Mohau Nkota put Bafana Bafana ahead in the 15th minute with a controlled volley across goal from a narrow angle.
Lyle Foster made it 2-0 in the 63rd minute, tapping in the rebound after Crocodiles goalkeeper Sekhoane Moerane could only parry Aubrey Modiba's strike into the air, and the Burnley striker set up the third for Oswin Appollis four minutes later.
Benin remain five points behind the South Africans in second place after a second-half header from Steve Mounie was enough to see off Zimbabwe.
South Africa have not played at the World Cup since hosting in 2010 yet their status at the summit of Group C remains in doubt in the long term.
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World governing body Fifa is still to rule on South Africa erroneously fielding Teboho Mokoena in a 2-0 home win over neighbours Lesotho in March when the midfielder should have sat out game through suspension.
South Africa admit their mistake but say that because their opponents did not protest, they will not lose the three points.
"We did something bad, we did something we shouldn't do, but there was no complaint," coach Hugo Broos said this week when questioned on the matter.
Continental heavyweights Nigeria are now nine points behind South Africa but can close that gap when they host Rwanda on Saturday (16:00 GMT).
The Super Eagles then travel to Bloemfontein to take on the group leaders on Tuesday.
Only the nine group winners are assured of a place in the finals hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States next year, but the four best second-place African sides will have another chance to pick up a ticket via play-offs and an intercontinental qualifier.
Wins for DR Congo and Burkina Faso
Elsewhere, Yoane Wissa netted on his first appearance of the season as DR Congo won 4-1 in South Sudan to keep their bid for the 2026 finals on track.
Cedric Bakambu's double got the Leopards up and running and Wissa, fresh from his transfer deadline day move to Newcastle United, ensured the Congolese moved four points clear at the top of Group B before Senegal face Sudan (19:00 GMT).
Dango Ouattara missed a penalty for Burkina Faso but later made amends with two goals as the Stallions thrashed 10-man Djibouti 6-0 in Group A.
The Brentford forward had a chance to open the scoring after Yabe Siad was sent off for a deliberate handball, but was too casual with his effort and hit the base of the right-hand upright.
Ouattara was on target with a curling free-kick to make it 5-0 just before the hour mark and then added a late spot-kick to wrap up the scoring.
Burkina Faso are two points behind Egypt, who host Ethiopia at 19:00 GMT, and must now beat the Pharaohs on home soil on Tuesday to keep alive their hopes of securing top spot.
Uganda revived their hopes in Group G as Rogers Mato netted twice in a 4-0 home win over Mozambique.
The Cranes are up to second, six points behind Algeria, with three rounds of fixtures remaining.
