By OBAKENG MAJE
5 October 2026 – Bafana Bafana continued their sensational form under coach Pitso Mosimane after stunning Egypt in their own backyard at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday night. A lone strike from Puso Dithejane in the 50th minute was enough to win this international friendly match and also extend the South African senior men’s national team’s winning run to three victories in a row after wins against Guinea and Eritrea in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers played a few days ago.
It was certainly a day to remember for Bafana Bafana after South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in the Cairo International Stadium change room to wish the team well minutes before the start of the match. Ramaphosa is in Egypt, where he participated in the 8th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting, and he was introduced to the team by South African Football Association (SAFA) President Dr Danny Jordaan.
The South Africa President was in the stands to witness for himself when a Bafana Bafana team featuring several new faces fought bravely to beat Egypt in front of their home fans. Mosimane had promised to make wholesale changes, and he did exactly that when he introduced several players who did not feature in the AFCON qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea.
“Yeah, it was a little difficult, you saw in the first five minutes that we could not find our feet. It’s normal because we brought in the younger ones. We changed the whole team. It takes a little time to gel and to come in, but as the game progressed, we gained confidence.
“But what I like is that they’re not afraid to play and we need to give them a chance. I let them swim with the sharks, threw them in the deep end. Yeah, they swam, hey? Yeah, so it’s good to see Shandre [Campbell), Puso, and all the young ones. [Lebone] Seema, big game and he played,” he said.
Mosimane further said they had to put [Khulumani] Ndamane in there, including Thabang Matuludi. He added that it was also good to bring back Fawaaz Basadien because he was with the national team before.
“Yeah, we were a little bit thin in the midfield due to several injuries to key personnel in the middle. I had to play Olwethu Makhanya in the midfield at the end. But it’s part of football. You’ve got to do what you have to do,” said Mosimane.
Jordaan congratulated the team and said they had made the nation proud.
Bafana Bafana will return to Johannesburg, South Africa, on Monday 5 October 2026.
