Mosimane faces formation decision as Bafana Bafana prepare for Guinea qualifier

Pitso Mosimane is weighing up his tactical approach as Bafana Bafana begin their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign against Guinea at Orlando Stadium on Saturday at 3pm.

The match will be Mosimane’s first in charge since returning to the national team, with attention focused on the players and system he selects as South Africa move on from the Hugo Broos era.

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

The coach said it had been difficult to assess the team after taking over because he had not spoken to Broos.

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

“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.

“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 after suffering an injury in training.

Sibisi is expected to recover in time for South Africa’s second qualifier against Eritrea and their friendly against Egypt in Cairo next week.

The coach said the squad had worked without distractions since the start of camp, although Sibisi’s absence was a setback. Lebo Maboe is also unavailable.

“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.”

Mosimane said South Africa had selected a large enough squad to deal with injuries and other difficulties during the international window.

“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.”