The Bafana Bafana players received an early Christmas present late on Tuesday after they were guaranteed to earn a bonus of $22,756 or R320‚000 each for progressing past the group stage of the  Africa Cup of Nations.

Coach Stuart Baxter’s unpredictable charges sneaked into last-16 stage after joining Guinea‚ the Democratic Republic of Congo and Benin on the third-placed table.

Bafana will now meet tournament hosts Egypt on Saturday‚ but they made heavy weather of their qualification after needing favours from elsewhere to reach the knockout stage.

SA Football Association president Danny Jordaan said a few days ago that while Baxter does not have a mandate at this competition‚ their expectation is that Bafana progress to the last-16.

“We expect them to go to the second round‚ at least‚” the Safa president said. “That’s why we have a bonus structure‚ to go to the second round.”

Bafana earned no bonuses for the opening round — only the lump sum if they reached the last-16.

Bafana reached the quarterfinals on home soil in 2013.