It ends a long wait for Bafana Bafana following a qualification campaign where they were the best team in their pool, but also at times their own worst enemies.
It could be a defining moment for a football nation that has underachieved in the last two decades but has plenty of potential and players of genuine quality.
There were several heroes along the way, players who rose to the occasion to help the side through a first successful qualification since the 2002 finals.
The goalkeeper and captain was the only player to feature in every minute of the campaign and made some crucial saves along the way. Not the tallest, he is an excellent shot-stopper and his distribution with the ball at his feet is a key weapon for the side. His leadership as skipper was also crucial and he is a much-respected figure within the team.
The rightback is such a classy player who was something of a late bloomer in his career, or he would surely be in Europe. He is a good defender, but also a key part of the link-up play down the right-side, venturing forward and finding teammates with clever, precise passes or accurate crosses. He also grabbed a goal in what turned out to be a vital 2-1 win over Benin and probably should score more given his quality.
The midfielder was the centre of an embarrassing slip-up when the team suffered a three-point deduction after he was fielded in the 2-0 win over Lesotho despite being suspended for two yellow cards earlier in the campaign. That was no fault of his though, but rather an administrative blunder, with some 18 months between his first yellow and the Lesotho game. But his strong performances as a deep-lying midfielder were crucial and he started nine of the 10 qualifying matches, always one of the first names on the scoresheet. Surprisingly, he did not manage a goal through the campaign, as he has that in his locker too.
The left-wing or playmaker made his international debut in the 2-0 away loss to Rwanda on a terrible plastic pitch in November 2023 and has since grown into a key part of the side. His transformation as player was perfectly illustrated in the way he ran the game in the return fixture against the Rwandans, which Bafana won 3-0. They could not handle his trickery on the ball and vision, and it was arguably the best performance of his career for club or country. Given him any sort of space and he will punish you.
The stalwart defender missed part of the campaign through injury but when he played he was a key component of the back four and helped the side keep clean sheets in his last four qualifiers. He battled a little on the plastic pitch in Rwanda, but the surface was below international standard and he was certainly not the only one. He brings leadership at the back and was part of a defence that only conceded six goals in their 10 fixtures.