Mosimane’s Bafana Bafana revival built on continuity and squad depth

Lehlohonolo Majoro says Pitso Mosimane’s decision to strengthen Bafana Bafana’s existing squad, rather than rebuild it, has been central to the team’s perfect start since his return as coach.

Mosimane has won all three of his matches in his second spell in charge, guiding South Africa to victories over Guinea and Eritrea in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers before a 1-0 friendly win against Egypt.

Former Bafana striker Majoro believes that early success has come from maintaining the foundations already established within the national team.

“Coach Pitso said he didn’t have to change much, and him returning for a second time doesn’t mean he has to change everything, the foundation has already been laid,” he said.

“There are players there who have been there for a while and, yes, there are inclusions of fresh faces, but it’s built on a stable group of players.”

Mosimane has kept a core of experienced internationals while bringing in new players to increase competition for places. Majoro feels that approach has enabled the coach to make an immediate impact without disturbing the team’s structure.

Depth is another key part of Mosimane’s plans. The coach wants South Africa to be able to maintain its performance level when important players are unavailable or rested.

Majoro said Mosimane had spoken about adopting an approach similar to that of the Springboks, South Africa’s rugby union team, by creating several line-ups capable of producing comparable results.

“I also heard him say he wants to replicate the Springboks in terms of depth, he wants to have 3/4 different teams and all of those teams can give you the same performance,” said Majoro.

That ambition was tested against Egypt, when Mosimane made wholesale changes following the emphatic 5-0 victory over Eritrea. Despite the altered line-up, Bafana Bafana secured another positive result with a 1-0 win.

The result completed a successful international camp in which South Africa won all three matches, despite using different personnel across the fixtures.

Majoro believes, however, that the results do not tell the whole story. He says Mosimane has already developed a winning mentality within the squad, enabling the team to find a way to prevail even when its performances are below their best.

“It was good for him and the group to start the qualifiers with back to back wins, even in situations where others may have felt that the performance must’ve been indifferent, but they found a way to win and that’s the most important skill. If you have a team that’s willing to do anything to win, then you’ve won as a coach,” he said.

Bafana Bafana will next aim to carry that momentum into their competitive programme, with the November Afcon qualifiers against Kenya providing another test.

For Mosimane, the task now is to convert an encouraging beginning into sustained progress. Majoro’s view is that continuity, greater squad depth and the ability to secure results in difficult circumstances will be essential.