Mosimane warns South Africa that McCarthy will make Kenya double-header difficult

Pitso Mosimane has warned South Africa they can expect a stern test from Benni McCarthy’s Kenya in their upcoming double-header, despite Bafana Bafana’s perfect return under their coach.

Mosimane began his second spell in charge with three victories in six days, as South Africa beat Guinea 2-1, Eritrea 5-0 and Egypt 1-0 during the international break.

Those results gave Bafana Bafana the ideal start to their qualification campaign for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. Their next challenge is a pair of matches against Kenya, one of the tournament’s co-hosts.

Kenya have already qualified for the finals, meaning only one other team from the group will progress alongside them. Mosimane therefore expects the meetings with McCarthy’s Harambee Stars to have a major influence on South Africa’s hopes.

“I know how football is played. Football is not how you start, it’s how you finish. I’m a very conservative coach,” Mosimane told SAFA.

“We have to qualify for AFCON. It looks good now, but we haven’t arrived. We have got Kenya back-to-back. So, that’s where everything will be, right.”

McCarthy, South Africa’s national record scorer, was appointed Kenya coach and will now face his former international team in the two matches.

“Benni will never allow us to win easy. He is a fighter by profession. In football, he is a fighter. Benni has a big heart for football,” said Mosimane.

The South African coach believes the two fixtures will be decisive before his side face Guinea again.

“It’s going to be difficult for us, those two games, they will determine our fate before we go to Guinea,” he added.

Mosimane also hopes the players currently dealing with injuries will return for the matches. He said Mbokazi had been involved and offered a positive update on Teboho’s fitness.

“Let’s see how we deal with Kenya, those are the next two. I hope the injured ones come back. Mbokazi played and Teboho is not bad, he will come back also to play.”