Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane has offered his assessment following South Africa’s 1-0 victory over Egypt in an international friendly at Cairo International Stadium on Sunday night.
The victory marked Mosimane’s third consecutive win since returning to the national team helm, succeeding Hugo Broos, 14 years after his initial tenure between 2010 and 2012.
International debutant Puso Dithejane scored the decisive goal in the 51st minute, securing a memorable away win over the North African nation in the presence of the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and SAFA leader Danny Jordaan.
PITSO MOSIMANE WEIGHS IN ON BAFANA BAFANA’S LINE-UP OVERHAUL AGAINST EGYPT
Reflecting on the match, Mosimane acknowledged that the squad rotation led to a sluggish start before the team found its feet.
“Well, it was a little bit difficult. You could see in the first five minutes that we could not find our feet. However, that’s normal because we brought in the younger ones and changed almost the whole team. It took a little bit of time to gel. But as the game progressed, the players gained confidence,” Mosimane said in a post-match interview.
“What I like is that they were not afraid to play. We need to give them a chance. So, let them swim with the sharks and throw them in the deep end. It is good to see Shandre [Campbell], Puso [Dithejane], and all the other young ones. Lebone Seema had a big game. We had to put in Khulumani Ndamane, and Thabang Matuludi has been there. So, it’s also good to bring back Fawaaz Basadien because he was with the national team previously.”
Despite the tactical adjustments and squad rotation, Mosimane highlighted how the team managed positional depth and defensive pressure throughout the match.
“We were a little bit thin in midfield; I had to play Olwethu Makhanya in midfield at the end. However, it’s part of football. We have to do what we have to do. We were under a lot of pressure, with more balls in our box and more crosses. But I know Egyptian football, so we prepared a lot,” he explained.
“I knew the balls would always come from the fullbacks. So what’s good is that we didn’t change much at centre-back because I didn’t want Lebone to play alone with Ndamane in a tricky game. I decided to keep Ime [Okon] in a little bit to play. However, I had promised Ndamane that he would play in the second half, and he came on.”
PITSO MOSIMANE ON STRATEGY REGARDING KEY PLAYER ROTATION
The former Al Ahly mentor also revealed his strategy regarding key player rotation and the leadership responsibilities handed out on the night.
“We had to rest Oswin Appollis and Relebohile Mofokeng. We didn’t need them in this game; we wanted to see what we have at this level. There are no better games we can give them. We had to give them this one and let them swim and drown, and they did come out. Everybody got a chance to play,” Mosimane added.
“Ricardo Goss played, and he saved us in the last 15 minutes. We can’t forget Sipho Chaine; he was the captain…as I said, we would have different captains. He did well, and everything went smoothly.”
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