Mosimane tells South Africa not to underestimate McCarthy’s Kenya

Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane has warned his players that Kenya’s place at next year’s Afcon could make them even more dangerous ahead of their two Group D qualifiers.

Kenya have already secured a place at the tournament because they are one of the three hosts, alongside Uganda and Tanzania, as the finals head to the Pamoja region. As a result, only one team from Group D will qualify through the qualifying campaign.

Group leaders Bafana Bafana will host Harambee Stars at Orlando Stadium on Friday before travelling to Nairobi for the return fixture next Tuesday.

Mosimane believes Kenya’s guaranteed place in the finals means they will approach the matches without the pressure carried by the other teams in the group. He also highlighted the influence and experience of Kenya coach Benni McCarthy, who is Bafana’s all-time leading goalscorer.

“Be very careful of playing an emotional team, especially when they have nothing to lose. They’re already in the finals [via being one of the hosts],” Mosimane warned.

The South Africa coach said McCarthy’s character and determination would add to the challenge facing his side.

“You are mentioning Benni, but you know the personality and willingness to win. He has the personality of fighting in football for his name and work. You’ve also got to respect that he’s a good coach. He was coaching Manchester United, and that’s a dream of any coach in the world. He was coaching [Cristiano] Ronaldo, excuse me.”

Mosimane also pointed to McCarthy’s achievements as both a player and coach, arguing that they should ensure he is treated with the same respect as any leading senior figure in the game.

“You’ve got to respect the level at which he has coached and played. None of us in the whole SA has got the gold medal of the [Uefa] Champions League,” Mosimane said.

He said McCarthy’s record reflected the level of competitor Bafana Bafana would face over the two matches.

“You’ve got to understand those facts that I am giving you, and what kind of person we are talking about in terms of the fight and winning at all costs in football.”

McCarthy’s status as Bafana’s record goalscorer adds further significance to the meetings, although Mosimane’s immediate focus is on ensuring South Africa do not underestimate a Kenya side already assured of appearing at next year’s Afcon.

The comments were reported by Sowetan.