Mosimane targets more wins as South Africa face McCarthy’s Kenya

Pitso Mosimane is aiming to maintain his perfect start as South Africa manager when Bafana Bafana meet Benni McCarthy’s Kenya in two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers over the next six days.

South Africa host the Harambee Stars at Orlando Stadium on Friday at 6pm before travelling to Nairobi for the return fixture next Tuesday. Mosimane’s side will be seeking victories in both matches.

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations co-hosts have already qualified for the tournament alongside Uganda and Tanzania, meaning Kenya are using the two encounters as preparation for the finals.

Mosimane began his reign with three consecutive wins. South Africa beat Guinea and Eritrea in their Afcon qualifiers in late September, before recording a friendly victory against Egypt at the start of October.

The coach has welcomed the results but says they have not removed the pressure that comes with managing Bafana Bafana.

“I hope it remains like that,” Mosimane said when asked about his winning beginning.

“If you don’t want pressure, don’t coach Bafana. In fact, don’t coach any team. Is the coach at Chippa [Brandon Truter] under pressure? Who is not under pressure, and who is in their comfort zone?

“I’ve seen the coach of [Orlando] Pirates [Abdeslam Ouaddou] celebrating the derby [victory]. I feel how difficult the emotions and the build-up of this thing are. We are all under pressure. The minute you are not under pressure, you are in your comfort zone, and when you are not under pressure, you must know that you are in the wrong space.”

Mosimane rejects McCarthy knowledge advantage

Mosimane also played down suggestions that McCarthy’s previous knowledge of South African football, and of Bafana in particular, could give Kenya an important edge.

McCarthy is preparing Kenya for the two-match series, but Mosimane argued that modern analysis means opponents are rarely unknown to one another.

“I guess everybody knows how Barcelona plays, right,” he said.

“Everybody knows how Arsenal is playing, right? Everybody sees Bayern Munich. Everyone has got analysts, four analysts people have got that, so they don’t know how they play? Everybody knows how you play. Just because I know how Benni plays doesn’t mean I have an advantage now. No, it just gives me a little bit of data and understanding of seeing patterns and what is most likely to come.

“What if he has changed the plan? Everybody knows how Pirates play until you get into Orlando [Stadium], right? It is the way it is in football.”

The first meeting takes place at Orlando Stadium on Friday evening, with the teams due to contest the second match in Nairobi next Tuesday.