Pitso Mosimane praises Bafana Bafana youngsters after ‘swimming with the sharks’ against Egypt

Pitso Mosimane has praised Bafana Bafana’s inexperienced players for embracing the pressure after throwing them “in the deep end” during the 1-0 friendly victory over Egypt in Cairo.

The South Africa coach made wholesale changes for Sunday’s clash at the Cairo International Stadium, resting several established players and handing opportunities to fringe and younger members of his squad.

The gamble paid off as 22-year-old Puso Dithejane came off the bench to score the winning goal on his international debut. Fellow debutant Shandre Campbell provided the assist after also being introduced as a substitute.

‘They swam’

Mosimane admitted South Africa took time to settle after fielding an unfamiliar side, but was pleased with how his players responded as the match progressed.

“It was a little bit difficult to see the first five minutes. We couldn’t find our feet. It’s normal because we brought the younger ones… we changed the whole team, so it takes a little bit of time to gel,” Mosimane said.

The Bafana coach, however, deliberately wanted his inexperienced players tested against a strong opponent rather than protected from the challenge.

“As the game progressed, we gained confidence. What I like is that they [new players] are not afraid to play. We need to give them a chance… I let them swim with the sharks, threw them in the deep end, and they swam.”

Mosimane singled out Campbell, Dithejane and Lebone Seema for praise after their contributions to a result that further strengthened the belief within his squad.

“It was good to see Shandre, Puso and all the younger ones. Seema had a big game… we had to put Ndamane. It was also good to bring them Basadien,” he said.

Regulars given a rest

The victory came without several of Bafana’s more familiar names, with captain Ronwen Williams, Relebohile Mofokeng and Oswin Appollis among those rested.

Mosimane explained that the decision was intentional, with the Egypt friendly viewed as an opportunity to assess the depth of his squad rather than rely on his established players.

“We had to rest Appollis, Rele… we don’t need them for this match because we wanted to see what other options we had at this level,” he said.

“There’s no better game to give new players a chance than this one… let them swim and drown and come out. They did come out.”

The result also extended Mosimane’s winning start since returning for his second spell in charge of South Africa. The Egypt victory was his third consecutive win after Bafana opened their latest Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with victories over Guinea and Eritrea.

Kenya tests await Bafana

Despite the perfect start, Mosimane remains cautious about South Africa’s prospects of reaching the Africa Cup of Nations.

Bafana currently sit top of Group D after two qualifying matches, but the coach insists there is still work to do before qualification can be secured.

Attention will now turn to next month’s back-to-back meetings with Kenya, where former South Africa striker Benni McCarthy will be in the opposition dugout.

McCarthy, Bafana’s all-time leading goalscorer, is expected to provide a stern test as South Africa continue their qualifying campaign.

“We have to qualify for Afcon. It looks good now, but we haven’t arrived. We have Kenya back-to-back. Benni will never allow us to win easily… he’s a fighter by nature,” Mosimane said.

“Those two games will determine our fate before we go to Guinea.”

The Egypt victory has therefore given Mosimane another encouraging result while also providing valuable evidence about the options available to him. For the coach, however, the real test will come when the qualifying pressure returns and Bafana face Kenya twice in succession.