Dithejane Capitalizes On Goalkeeper Howler As Bafana Stun Egypt

Bafana Bafana produced a heroic defensive display to defeat Egypt 1-0 in a high-profile friendly at Cairo International Stadium on Sunday, capping off a perfect international break for head coach Pitso Mosimane.

Despite absorbing sustained pressure from the hosts, Puso Dithejane pounced on a catastrophic defensive error in the second half to score the game’s only goal from South Africa’s single clear chance.

The victory marked Bafana’s third consecutive win, building on their impressive start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers where they defeated Guinea before thrashing Eritrea 5-0 in midweek.

Fixtures against Egypt always evoke memories of the 1998 AFCON final in Burkina Faso, where the Pharaohs denied South Africa a second successive continental title with a 2-0 win in Ouagadougou. Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan was a thorn in the flesh, setting up Tarek Mostafa in that final and shared the top-scorer award with Benni McCarthy on seven goals.

Mosimane gave opportunities to the likes of Lebone Seema, Puso Dithejane, Thabang Matuludi, Tashreeq Matthews, Luther Singh — who scored in the 5-0 win over Eritrea in the AFCON qualifiers midweek — and Cassius Mailula.

Sipho Chaine captained the side, with Ronwen Williams given a rest.

Egypt were without star captain Mohamed Salah, with Omar Marmoush leading the line.

Marmoush almost opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes when he broke the offside trap, but his shot did not bend enough to beat Chaine.

The home side, who have won the AFCON a record five times, most recently in 2010, settled first in Cairo and began asking questions of Bafana’s defence.

As Egypt continued to probe, Mohamed Hany unleashed another thundering strike, but it flew wide of the target.

Even though it was a friendly match, the game was attended by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola.

SAFA president Danny Jordaan was also in attendance in the VIP suite alongside the country’s leaders. Ramaphosa briefed the squad in the dressing room before the game.

Egypt kept coming, and Ibrahim Adel, inside the box, should have done better to find the target, but his effort was poor and was comfortably saved by Chaine.

Matuludi produced a thundering strike in a rare attacking move for Bafana Bafana, but his effort went wide.

However, Shandre Campbell won the ball and clipped it forward towards Puso Dithejane and Mailula. Al Ahly goalkeeper Oufa Shobeir miskicked the ball while attempting to clear the danger, creating confusion inside the Egyptian defence.

Dithejane pounced on the loose ball and slotted it into an empty net.

It was Bafana’s only clear-cut chance of the match — and they took it.

It was Dithejane’s first goal in the Bafana Bafana colours.

Despite making several changes, Bafana Bafana remained structurally strong enough to deny Egypt on home soil. The side improved following the arrival of Shandre Campbell, Tshepang Moremi and Khulumane Ndamane.

Although Egypt enjoyed 56% possession, they failed to create a clear-cut chance from open play.

Hamza Abdelkarim, who is on the books of Barcelona, met a perfect cross with a header, but Ricardo Goss was equal to it and palmed the ball away.

Orlando Pirates defender Seema was outstanding at the back, keeping a close eye on Egypt’s attackers and thwarting everything they threw at Bafana’s defence.

Hany was lucky not to be sent off after shoving Campbell to the ground with his shoulder. The Al Ahly defender was not even cautioned, which was a bizarre decision.

The incident sparked a melee, with both benches entering the pitch as players and officials became involved in the scuffle.

Egypt came close to finding an equaliser, but Adel’s shot rattled the crossbar as Bafana Bafana managed to clear the danger and secure a famous victory.

Bafana Bafana will be back in action in November when they face Kenya home and away in the AFCON qualifiers.