Guinea boss Paulo Duarte repeats praise for Bafana Bafana after AFCON defeat

Guinea coach Paulo Duarte has again praised Bafana Bafana, describing South Africa as a team with quality in every department after their 2-1 victory in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

South Africa, led by Pitso Mosimane, began their qualifying campaign with a win over The National Elephants at the Orlando Amstel Arena last Saturday.

The result gave Mosimane a winning start to his second spell in charge of the national team, while Duarte was left impressed by the depth available to his opponents.

The Guinea coach had already called Bafana one of the best teams in Africa and later included them in his top three sides on the continent. He expanded on that assessment after the match, highlighting both the strength of South Africa’s squad and the players who were unavailable.

“They are good in every sector and there were three players who didn’t play today,” Duarte told reporters after the game.

“And unfortunately, there is a good player [Jayden Adams] from South Africa who passed away.

“So there was also one defender from the MLS [Mbekezeli Mbokazi] who was not playing today. There’s another player also who didn’t play as well.

“So, yeah, the South African team is very good in every department.”

Duarte also identified the Bafana goalkeeper as a key strength and praised the understanding within Mosimane’s squad.

He noted that many of the players are team-mates at Mamelodi Sundowns, which he believes has helped South Africa develop a settled style and strong collective rhythm.

“Bafana have a very good goalkeeper. So if you ask me who is the best players, for me it’s all sectors, they have the big players in all sectors,” he added.

“They have a very good dynamic, most of the players are playing for Mamelodi Sundowns, and they actually play together all the time.

“They have been playing together for a long time.”

South Africa’s next 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier is against Eritrea in Egypt on Wednesday.

Guinea will host Kenya in their second qualifier of the current international break, with Duarte’s side looking to respond after beginning the campaign with defeat.