Mosimane welcomes Duarte’s praise after Bafana Bafana win

Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane has responded modestly to Guinea manager Paulo Duarte’s claim that South Africa are one of the top three teams in Africa.

Duarte made the assessment after Guinea were beaten 2-1 by Bafana Bafana in their opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations Group D match in Orlando on Saturday.

The result put South Africa at the top of the group with three points after the first round of matches. Guinea are bottom, while tournament co-hosts Kenya and Eritrea drew in the other Group D fixture.

Duarte praised South Africa after the match and included them alongside the 1996 champions, Morocco and Senegal in his leading three African nations.

Mosimane, taking charge of his second game since beginning his second stint as Bafana Bafana manager, said he was encouraged by the comments but accepted that the team still had work to do.

“Well, if that’s his assessment, it’s humbling,” Mosimane said.

“But yeah, top three yes, we got the bronze [2023 AFCON] with that yes, right.

“But we have a long way to go right, they’re a good team also. We played well we are a good team.”