The brutal reality still facing Mosimane with Bafana

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Pitso Mosimane still has heavy demands on his demands on his shoulders to secure 2027 AFCON qualification with Guinea spotting a wide opportunity.

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The brutal reality still facing Mosimane with Bafana

Oct 22, 2026 – 11:46 am
By Lovemore Moyo

The confirmation of Bafana Bafana’s next AFCON qualifier has set reminders about the demands that remain planted on Pitso Mosimane.

Bafana will host Benni McCarthy’s Kenya on November 13 (18:00) at the Orlando Amstel Arena.

While the two wins against Guinea and Eritrea provided the perfect start in Group D, there are still heavy demands on Bafana to complete the qualification.

With Kenya already guaranteed of their qualification as one of three hosts, it means Bafana must battle it out with Guinea for the second ticket in the group.

The two upcoming games against the Harambee Stars stand as must-wins, considering that Guinea are expected to collect six points against whipping boys Eritrea in their back-to-back games in November. The group is then expected to have Bafana on 12 points after four games, with Guinea on nine — setting up what could be a decisive encounter in Conakry.

This will be ahead of Bafana then travelling to Conakry in March 2027 for the game that is most likely to then stand to decide who qualifies between the two.

Bafana then finish home against Eritrea, while Guinea travel to Kenya – who have already played Eritrea at home in Nairobi and failed to collect all three points.

The three groups featuring host nations will be cruel as they will essentially turn into three-team pools, meaning three teams are fighting for one spot instead of four pushing for two tickets like the other groups without host countries. One of Bafana or Guinea could finish with 15 points out of 18 and still not qualify, as only one of the two can go through — a brutal reality that sets South Africa up for a high-stakes qualifying campaign.

The path that will keep Mosimane’s with no need to look over their shoulders, goal difference or head-to-head results is to collect six points in the next two against Kenya, then avoid defeat in Guinea, and hammer Eritrea at home.

That will be a safe 16 points that guarantees they finish ahead of Guinea even if the West Africans win all their other games.

Kenya are ranked a lowly 114, while Bafana have moved up to 48 – their highest ranking since October 2011.

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