Jomo Sono confident South Africa will qualify for 2027 Africa Cup of Nations

Jomo Sono says South Africa will qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations despite the criticism surrounding Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane.

The South African football legend believes the national team has enough quality to finish at the top of Group D, where only one side among South Africa, Eritrea and Guinea will qualify.

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will host the 2027 tournament. Kenya and Uganda, alongside Tanzania, will qualify automatically as co-hosts, leaving the teams in South Africa’s group competing for one remaining place.

Sono’s support for South Africa comes amid growing anger from fans who have accused Mosimane, the former Al Ahly head coach, of imposing the Mamelodi Sundowns system on the national team’s players instead of assessing them objectively.

“As for the supporters, they have the right to praise and the right to criticize,” Sono told KickOff.

The former Bafana Bafana coach said the national team was effectively being managed not only by Mosimane but also by the country’s 60 million football followers, whose strong opinions shape the debate around the side.

“All 60 million of them are coaches. They all know a lot about football, and they are all good coaches, so with 60 million coaches South Africa will surely qualify,” he said.

Sono remains convinced that South Africa are in a favourable position in the qualifying group and expects them to take another step towards the tournament with victory over Eritrea.

“South Africa will qualify. We have a strong team to be honest. We will beat Eritrea. We will qualify,” he said.

“It’s not a difficult group they are in, especially with only one team required to qualify. They are already topping their group, and they are going to beat Eritrea today.”

His comments come as the debate over Mosimane’s approach continues, with supporters questioning whether the coach is selecting players on merit or favouring those familiar with the Mamelodi Sundowns style.

Sono, however, dismissed the suggestion that the qualifying campaign presents a major challenge for Bafana Bafana. He pointed to their position at the top of the group and the fact that only one team needs to advance, while maintaining that South Africa’s squad is strong enough to secure qualification.