Mosimane to rotate South Africa squad for Egypt friendly in Cairo

South Africa coach Pitso Mosimane is expected to make several changes for Sunday’s international friendly against Egypt in Cairo, with the match providing an opportunity to assess more players at senior level.

The game kicks off at 20h00 SA time, and Mosimane is aiming to maintain his unbeaten record against the Pharaohs as Bafana Bafana coach. His two previous meetings with Egypt produced one win and one draw.

Those matches came during the 2012 AFCON qualifiers, a campaign which ended in bizarre fashion when South Africa celebrated at Mbombela Stadium believing they had secured qualification, only to discover that they had not.

Mosimane, who previously worked at Al Ahly, is familiar with Cairo and plans to use the friendly to spread playing time across his squad.

Sipho Chaine is set to feature, with Fawaaz Basadien, Lebone Seema, Khulumani Ndamane, Brooklyn Poggenpoel, Cassius Mailula, Tashreeq Matthews, Puso Dithejane and Shandre Campbell also expected to receive an opportunity.

Mosimane said the younger players needed to be tested against strong opposition, while asking supporters to be patient with their development.

“We are pleading for patience and support for them,” Mosimane is quoted as saying by SAFA.

“They are breaking through and we need to see what we have in our ranks.

“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’ve got nothing to lose.

“It is a friendly game, and we need to see what they are capable of at this level.

“So, we plead for patience and support for these youngsters.”

Mosimane also stressed that South Africa’s qualifying commitments against Guinea and Eritrea had been completed, making the Cairo fixture an important chance to prepare for the future.

“The country must understand that we have played the qualifiers (against Guinea and Eritrea) and we are done,” he said.

“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?

“We do not have friendly games until the Africa Cup of Nations next year, so this is the only chance they have.”