Mosimane warns South Africa they have ‘long way’ to go despite Eritrea win

South Africa head coach Pitso Mosimane has warned his side they still have work to do to qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations despite a convincing 5-0 victory over Eritrea.

Bafana Bafana made it two wins from two in Group D with a dominant performance at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo on Wednesday.

Relebohile Mofokeng scored twice in the first half before Sphephelo Sithole, Iqraam Rayners and Luther Singh added further goals after the break.

South Africa had opened their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Guinea and now lead the group with six points.

Guinea are second on three points, while Kenya and Eritrea have one point each.

However, Kenya have already secured automatic qualification as co-hosts of the tournament, meaning only one additional team from Group D will qualify.

That leaves South Africa, Guinea and Eritrea competing for the remaining qualification place.

Mosimane urged his players not to become complacent after their impressive start.

“It’s not how you start but how you finish,” he said.

“We have a long way. We’ve got four games to qualify, and we are in a difficult group because Kenya has automatically qualified, so it’s only one team that can qualify.

“Unlike other groups that have two teams [fighting] to qualify, we are in a difficult position.”

Mosimane also expressed concern about conceding in South Africa’s opening victory over Guinea, saying the result could prove important if qualification is decided by head-to-head records.

“I’m not happy that we conceded a goal against Guinea because, you know, it will come to head-to-head,” he said.

“We have to do what we’ve got to do. You have to stay where you are. So we are there [at the top of the group], and we’ve got to stay there.

“It’s in our hands.”

South Africa return to action in November when they face Kenya twice in quick succession, with Bafana Bafana hosting the first fixture before travelling for the return match.

With only one qualification place available beyond the hosts, every point could prove crucial as South Africa look to secure their place at the 2027 AFCON.