South Africa v Egypt: Pitso Mosimane plans wholesale Bafana Bafana changes

Pitso Mosimane is expected to make sweeping changes to the Bafana Bafana side for Sunday’s friendly against Egypt at the Cairo International Stadium, with kick-off at 9pm.

The South Africa coach used his strongest available teams in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying victories over Guinea and Eritrea, results which took Bafana Bafana to the top of Group D.

Mosimane is now set to give an opportunity to players who had limited involvement, or did not feature, in those two matches. Sipho Chaine, Ricardo Goss, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Fawaaz Basadien, Khulumani Ndamani, Shandre Campbell, Puso Dithejane, Tashreeq Matthews and Cassius Mailula are among those expected to start against the Pharaohs.

The match will allow Mosimane to assess the depth of his squad as South Africa prepares for the next Fifa World Cup.

“It is a friendly game and we need to see what they are capable of at this level,” Mosimane told SAFA from the team’s camp in Cairo on Friday afternoon.

“So we plead for patience and support for these youngsters. The country must understand that we have played the qualifiers [against Guinea and Eritrea] and we are done.

“That is the most important thing. It is important to build for the next Fifa World Cup, and if we don’t put them in now, when are we going to see them?”

Mosimane said the lack of further friendly opportunities before next year’s Africa Cup of Nations made Sunday’s fixture particularly important for the players attempting to establish themselves internationally.

“We do not have friendly games until the Africa Cup of Nations next year, so this is the only chance they have. They are breaking through and we need to see what we have in our ranks,” he said.

The coach acknowledged that introducing inexperienced players against Egypt would be a demanding test, but said the situation also offered them valuable exposure.

“Unfortunately, we have a big team [Egypt] that we have to play against on Sunday. The challenge is we have to let them [the players] swim with the sharks, but we have nothing to lose,” he said.

Mosimane also confirmed that Mamelodi Sundowns midfielders Bathusi Aubaas and Teboho Mokoena would not be available for consideration because of injuries.