Mosimane faces tactical decision as Bafana Bafana prepare for Guinea qualifier

Pitso Mosimane is weighing up his tactical approach for Bafana Bafana’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Guinea at Orlando Stadium on Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm.

The match will mark Mosimane’s first game since returning to lead the national team. Much of the attention has focused on which players he will select as South Africa begin to move beyond the Hugo Broos era.

Mosimane appeared alongside Ronwen Williams at his pre-match press conference, suggesting the Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper will retain the captaincy.

The coach said he had faced a difficult start because he had not held discussions with Broos before taking over.

“I am looking at the team and the reality is that we have matches at the highest level,” Mosimane said.

He is also considering how the team should line up after its recent matches, with several formations under consideration.

“You look at the way we play and the formations and you see a 3-5-2, 3-4-3, 4-2-3-1. You have to understand and put yourself in my position and say which way we are going to go from our last three games,” he said.

“It is not easy for me because I have to try to put something from those last four games. Everybody can say it has been nice and rosy, but on my side there is the reality and truth of where the team is and how it’s playing.”

Mosimane confirmed that Orlando Pirates defender Nkosinathi Sibisi will miss the Guinea fixture because of injury. He is expected to recover in time for South Africa’s second qualifier against Eritrea and their friendly against Egypt in Cairo next week.

Sibisi has not trained for the past two days after suffering a knock during a session.

“The camp has been good from day one. There were no distractions around the team and everyone is focused. The setback is Sibisi because he’s got an injury,” Mosimane said.

“He hasn’t been training for the past two days because of a knock that he got at training. We are monitoring it, and the doctor said he will miss this one. Injuries are part of professional sport.”

Lebo Maboe is also unavailable, but Mosimane said the size of the squad should allow Bafana Bafana to cope with the absences without disruption.

“Hence we selected enough numbers because you don’t know what you are going to face. Lebo Maboe is also out, but it’s good that we selected enough players so that we can go through hurdles without panicking. So far, so good and the camp is good.”