Bafana Bafana travel to Kenya with full squad available for crucial qualifier

Pitso Mosimane will take an unchanged range of selection options to Nairobi after every player in the Bafana Bafana squad was cleared to play in Tuesday’s decisive away qualifier.

Bafana Bafana were held to a 2-2 draw at home on Friday and now need to win against the Harambee Stars to keep control of their group.

The match in Nairobi carries significant consequences. Guinea are expected to beat Eritrea again, meaning Bafana Bafana will drop to second place if they fail to claim all three points against Benni McCarthy’s team.

Mosimane will not have to deal with any additional suspensions after the two central defenders who were at risk of missing the game avoided further bookings.

Ime Okon and Olwethu Makhanya both began Friday’s match on one yellow card, leaving them one caution away from an automatic suspension. Okon had been booked against Guinea, while Makhanya received his caution during the match against Eritrea.

Under Chapter 17 of the qualifiers’ regulations, which covers player sanctions, a second caution results in a suspension for the following match.

That means the defensive pair remain available for the trip to Kenya, although Mosimane must still decide whether to make a change at the heart of his defence.

Mbekezeli Mbokazi is also available, and the question facing the Bafana Bafana coach is whether to restore him to the starting line-up after the team conceded twice at home.

Mbokazi could replace Makhanya, who was at fault for Kenya’s second goal on Friday. Mbokazi previously partnered Okon at the World Cup, giving the pair an established understanding in central defence.

The decision will come after Bafana Bafana’s latest setback halted their winning run under Mosimane and increased the importance of Tuesday’s fixture.

The rest of the squad is also available for selection. Luthar Singh was the only attacking option among the substitutes who was not used in Friday’s match.

Bafana Bafana must now respond in Nairobi, where victory would allow them to maintain their position in the group despite conceding two goals at home. A failure to win would leave them behind Guinea if the expected result is achieved in the other fixture.

Mosimane therefore travels with a full squad, but with the defensive composition still to be settled before the meeting with the Harambee Stars.