Pitso Mosimane’s second spell in charge of Bafana Bafana has started with a victory, but the new coach is already being forced to consider his squad depth.
South Africa opened their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign with a 2-1 win over Guinea at Orlando Stadium on Saturday, 26 September.
Attention now turns to Eritrea, with the two sides scheduled to meet in Cairo on Wednesday, 30 September.
Mosimane gets winning start
Mosimane returned to the Bafana dugout with plenty of attention on whether he would make significant changes to the side that achieved World Cup qualification under Hugo Broos.
Instead, the coach retained much of the established core and was rewarded with three points.
Ime Okon opened the scoring in the 30th minute before Guinea responded through Seydouba Cisse after the break.
Samukele Kabini ultimately settled the contest, finding the net in the 77th minute to secure victory for South Africa.
The result puts Bafana at the top of their qualifying group after the opening round of matches.
Injuries provide an early test
While the result was positive, Mosimane’s first match also brought some selection concerns.
Aubrey Modiba picked up a tight hamstring against Guinea and is now a doubt for the Eritrea encounter.
Nkosinathi Sibisi is another concern after suffering a knock in training, while Lebohang Maboe, Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Khuliso Mudau are also unavailable.
The growing injury list could have forced Mosimane into difficult decisions, but the coach has stressed that the size of his squad gives him options.
With 30 players available in the current camp, Bafana have several alternatives as Mosimane continues assessing his group.
Eritrea presents another challenge
The Eritrea match will provide another opportunity for Mosimane to evaluate his players while attempting to maintain South Africa’s strong start to qualifying.
The fixture will take place in Cairo after Eritrea were unable to secure a suitable home venue.
South Africa currently sit at the top of the group, while Kenya drew with Eritrea in Nairobi in their opening fixture.
That makes another positive result particularly important as the early qualifying picture begins to take shape.
Egypt friendly follows
Bafana’s September-October international window does not end with the Eritrea match.
Mosimane’s team will remain in Cairo before facing Egypt in an international friendly on Sunday, 4 October.
The additional fixture should give the coach further opportunities to assess players and experiment with his squad, particularly with several players dealing with injuries.
For now, however, the immediate focus is on Eritrea and whether Bafana can follow their opening AFCON qualifying victory with another strong performance.
Can Mosimane’s Bafana Bafana make it two wins from two against Eritrea?
