Pitso Mosimane celebrates South Africa’s 1-0 victory over Egypt

South Africa extended their impressive run under Pitso Mosimane with a 1-0 win against Egypt at Cairo International Stadium on Sunday evening.

Puso Dithejane scored the only goal of the international friendly in the 50th minute, securing a third consecutive victory for the senior men’s national team.

The Bafana Bafana had previously beaten Guinea and Eritrea in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches played a few days earlier.

The victory came after an eventful day for South Africa, with president Cyril Ramaphosa visiting the team’s dressing room at Cairo International Stadium shortly before kick-off to wish the players good luck.

Mosimane had promised to make significant changes to his starting side after the qualifying wins against Guinea and Eritrea, and several players who had not featured in those matches were given an opportunity against Egypt.

The changes initially disrupted South Africa’s rhythm, with the team struggling to settle during the opening stages.

“Yes, it was a little difficult,” Mosimane said. “You saw it during the first five minutes, we were struggling to find our shape. That is normal because we brought in the young players. We changed the whole team.

“It takes a little time for the combinations to come together, but as the match went on, we grew in confidence.”

Mosimane said he was pleased that the younger players were willing to take responsibility and compete without fear.

“But what I appreciate is that they are not afraid to play and they have to be given a chance,” he added. “I tested them and threw them into the deep end. And they rose to the challenge.

“It is good to see Shandre [Campbell], Puso and all the young players. [Lebone] Seema played an important match. We had to play [Khulumani] Ndamane… [Thabang] Matuludi has already played in that position.”

Dithejane’s goal was enough to settle the contest, with South Africa holding on to maintain their winning sequence under Mosimane.

The coach also welcomed the return of Fawaaz Basadien, who had been involved with the national team, while explaining that injuries had left his midfield options limited.

“It was also good to bring back [Fawaaz] Basadien because he was in the national team,” Mosimane said. “We were a little short in midfield [because of several key players being injured].

“I had to play [Olwethu] Makhanya in midfield towards the end of the match. But that is football. You have to deal with it.”