Pitso leads Benni 4-3 ahead of Friday the 13th rendezvous
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Ex-Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy and ex-Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane during an Absa Premiership match. Photo: Gallo Images
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Pitso leads Benni 4-3 ahead of Friday the 13th rendezvous
Oct 29, 2026 – 11:09 am
By Lunga Adam
Bafana Bafana against Kenya in back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers will see Pitso Mosimane and Benni McCarthy squaring off, and KickOff takes a look at their record in matches against each other.
South Africa host the 2027 AFCON co-hosts Kenya at the Orlando Amstel Arena on 13 November, before the return leg away from home four days later. Mosimane has already announced a 38-man preliminary squad, with the final selections set to be revealed next week.
He and McCarthy have only ever met at club level, on the benches of Mamelodi Sundowns and Cape Town City, respectively. The statistics paint a picture of competitiveness between the two former top-level footballers during their eight meetings.
Mosimane claimed four wins to McCarthy’s three, with the other match ending in a draw.
The real detail, though, is in the scorelines at a time when the Tshwane giants were at the peak of their dominance of the local scene.
The rivarly got going in 2017/18 as City secured a 1-0 win in December 2017 at Loftus, with the Chloorkop-based outfit returning the favour with a win by the exact scoreline in the return fixture down in the Cape in February of the next year.
It was on to the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup two months later, with The Brazilians edging McCarthy’s men 2-1.
The two teams renewed hostilities in the MTN8 semi-finals the following campaign, with City earning a 1-0 first-leg victory at home, before the men in Yellow and Blue triumphed 1-0 in the second leg. The latter were dumped out of the competition via penalties (4-2) as the Citizens went on to beat SuperSport United in the final.
The meetings in the league that season were as closely contested, as Sundowns won 3-2 in Pretoria on 27 February 2019, before suffering a 2-1 defeat away on 5 March.
The last ever meeting between the two legendary figures of South African football took place on 20 August 2019 as their teams played to a 1-1 draw in Pretoria.
McCarthy’s tenure as Kenya coach has not been all roses and sunshine following work permit issues and his recent inflammatory comments concerning the quality of the players at his disposal, leading to calls for his sacking from the fanbase.
Meanwhile, Mosimane’s return to the Bafana hotseat has returned three wins from his first three games, and with the Harambee Stars having already qualified for the AFCON by virtue of being co-hosts, South Africa will be considered favourites over the two games.
READ: Mngqithi’s best record amid Chiefs & Downs links
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