Mosimane urges South Africa to respect McCarthy’s Kenya threat

Pitso Mosimane has warned South Africa not to underestimate Kenya ahead of their back-to-back 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, saying the pressure on Benni McCarthy could inspire his players to produce a major upset.

The Bafana Bafana head coach believes teams can become especially dangerous when their manager’s future is linked to the result of a match. He said players may fight harder for a coach who is under scrutiny, particularly when there is little left to lose.

“If a player or a coach’s future depends on a game, you’ve got to be very, very careful of that because sometimes the players play for him and you can get the biggest surprise you can ever have. So be very careful of playing an emotional team and especially when they have nothing to lose. They’re already in the Cup of Nations qualifiers, the African qualifiers, in the finals,” Mosimane told the media at a press conference on Monday.

McCarthy, who leads Kenya, has also earned Mosimane’s respect through his playing career and coaching experience. The South Africa coach highlighted McCarthy’s time at Manchester United, where he worked with Cristiano Ronaldo.

“You’ve got to also respect that Benni is a good coach. Benni was coach in Manchester United, a dream that any coach in South Africa wished to have. He coached [Cristiano] Ronaldo, excuse me.”

Mosimane also pointed to McCarthy’s UEFA Champions League success and his experience at the highest levels of football as reasons why Kenya should not be dismissed.

“You’ve got to respect the level at which he has coached and you’ve got to respect the level at which he has played. None of us in the whole continent has got the gold medal of [UEFA] Champions League. So you’ve got to understand those facts I’m giving you, that what kind of person we are talking about in terms of the fight in football to win, the fight to personality to win at all costs.”

Kenya’s squad includes players competing in several European leagues, another factor Mosimane believes should prevent complacency within South Africa’s camp.

He used Cape Verde’s progress at the World Cup as an example of why every opponent must be treated seriously, regardless of reputation.

“So be careful of you undermining teams and also let’s learn from Capo Verde in the World Cup that you must respect all your opponents and it’s all on the pitch and until the referee blows his final whistle, then you can say you’ve won the game.”

Mosimane added that his own career had taught him the risks of dismissing less-fancied opponents.

“Otherwise, I don’t live in the space of complacency because I’ve lost many, many games to teams that in my career were bottom of the North or so-called Minnos or no one ever saw them coming. So you’ve got to respect it.”