AFCON 2027 Qualifiers: Benni McCarthy says tactical switch caught Bafana Bafana off guard

Kenya head coach Benni McCarthy believes his tactical adjustments helped frustrate Pitso Mosimane and South Africa as the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday.

The Harambee Stars came from behind twice to earn a point against Bafana Bafana at the Orlando Amstel Arena, with McCarthy suggesting that his changes during the game caught the South African technical team by surprise.

McCarthy was pleased with his team’s response after conceding but admitted that he would have preferred greater control of the contest.

“I thought it was a good game of football, a little too basketball-like for my liking. I would like to have had more control of the game, especially when we went 1-1 up. Before half-time, I thought we got into the game well and controlled most of the situations,” he told SABC Sport.

The former Manchester United striker explained that South Africa’s attacking approach, particularly the movement of Oswin Appollis, Tshepang Moremi, Relebohile Mofokeng and Iqraam Rayners, initially caused problems for his side.

He said the positioning of the South African full-backs also forced him to make tactical adjustments to prevent them from exploiting the spaces on the flanks.

“I had to change the system, which I don’t think they realised I changed as the game went on, because we got into a bit of trouble with Modiba. The two full-backs on both sides were causing us problems,” McCarthy added.

He explained that Kenya switched to a back three, allowing their wing-backs to deal with South Africa’s full-backs and giving his players more room to retain possession and create attacking opportunities.

“When we changed it, we changed into a back three and then the wing-backs occupied their full-backs, which I think they didn’t know what hit them. Then we started having a bit of space and more possession and we were able to do what we did,” he said.

McCarthy believed the draw was a fair reflection of the contest, insisting that both teams had periods of dominance and created opportunities to win the match.

He also praised the two goalkeepers for their performances, saying their interventions played an important role in keeping both sides in the game.

Although satisfied with the point, McCarthy acknowledged that South Africa may have been disappointed with the outcome but warned that Kenya would be looking to build on the result when the teams meet again.

“They’ve got another opportunity to come to Kenya and hopefully get something positive from that game,” he said.