Bafana Bafana will look to build on their winning start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers when they take on Eritrea in a group D clash at the Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday evening.
Kick-off is at 18:00 SA time and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
South Africa head into the encounter brimming with confidence after opening their qualifying campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Guinea at Orlando Stadium over the weekend. The result marked an encouraging start to the Pitso Mosimane era and provided a platform for Bafana Bafana to continue their push towards qualification for the continental showpiece.
With Eritrea unable to host CAF-sanctioned international matches on home soil, the East Africans will stage the fixture in Egypt. Despite the neutral venue, Mosimane has warned against underestimating an Eritrean side that showed resilience in their opening qualifier.
The Bafana mentor praised his team's performance against Guinea but stressed the importance of maintaining the same intensity and respect for every opponent.
“I am happy with the result we got against Guinea. We got the result, and even the attitude was good. We need to show the same attitude against Eritrea because you can’t give respect to Guinea and not accord the same to an Eritrea side that just claimed a point away from home in Kenya,” said Mosimane.
Eritrea proved their credentials by holding Kenya to a 1-1 draw at Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium, a result that leaves them on one point in group D and determined to upset the South Africans.
'SPIRIT AND ENERGY'
Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams echoed his coach’s sentiments, highlighting the positive atmosphere within the squad and the players’ willingness to embrace Mosimane’s methods.
“The spirit and the energy among ourselves is always good and we have maintained that. The guys have been open to all the changes that the coach has implemented. One way to see that is through the tactical agreements we had in the previous game and some of the things we worked on in training ahead of the match,” said Williams.
With confidence growing, renewed tactical discipline taking shape, and three valuable points already on the board, Bafana Bafana know another victory against Eritrea would strengthen their position at the top end of group D and maintain the momentum generated by their opening-day success.
A professional performance in Cairo could see South Africa take another significant step towards securing a place at the 2027 Afcon finals, while further reinforcing the progress being made under Mosimane’s leadership.