Mosimane Refuses To Underestimate Eritrea In Egypt Encounter

Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane insists South Africa will treat 184th-ranked Eritrea with total respect in Wednesday’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier at Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo.

Eritrea narrowly missed out on a historic victory in their opening fixture, holding Benni McCarthy’s Kenya to a 1-1 draw at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi. Nahom Girmai opened the scoring for Hesham Yakan’s side in the 36th minute before Ryan Ogam netted a late equalizer for Kenya.

Bafana currently top Group D following their opening 2-1 win over Guinea at Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday.

Mosimane and his squad flew directly to Egypt after securing their opening victory, aiming to collect another three points and maintain their position at the summit of Group D. Wednesday’s match is being hosted in Cairo because Eritrea currently lacks a CAF-approved home stadium.

Why is Pitso Mosimane wary of Eritrea’s attacking threat?

Mosimane highlighted Eritrea’s resilience in Nairobi as clear evidence that South Africa cannot afford any lapse in concentration.

“The most important thing is to give respect to the opponent,” said Mosimane, who was unable to qualify Bafana Bafana for the 2012 AFCON after they misread the competition rules.

“Because they are in a group, they qualified [via the preliminary stages]; that is the most important thing. We saw them against Eswatini, and they managed to win to qualify.

“We respect them for that. They have got a striker [Ali Sulieman from Al Masry] who is scoring all the time. He is fast, left or right, set pieces.

“He is one important guy we have to look after because he is very tricky. They have been good; they gave Kenya a scare, and Kenya had to equalise at the end. That shows you have to respect them because Kenya is a good team.

“But they were up front with an early goal, and we have to be very careful of that guy.

“We have to make sure that we look after those important issues, as I just mentioned. But we back ourselves because we are a good team. We missed a few chances, and we need a little bit of improvement.

“But every other team needs improvement. We stayed positive; we played properly, we respected the country, and that is what I expect the boys to show: respect for the national team, the flag, nobody walking, everyone fighting and working hard.”

Mosimane, who joins Stuart Baxter as one of the coaches to have had two stints in charge of Bafana Bafana, was pleased with the result in Orlando and wants the same application against the 184th-ranked Eritrea, who are 134 places below South Africa.

“I’m happy with the result,” added Mosimane.

“Even the attitude was good. We need to show the same attitude towards Eritrea because you cannot give respect to Guinea and not give respect to Eritrea, who went away and got a point in Nairobi.

“We have to win the games that we can win, and it would be nice to win away from home and stay where we are [at the top].

“I expect us to finish where we are at the moment. It is up to us to keep ourselves where we are.”