Pitso Mosimane’s return as Bafana Bafana coach has begun with two wins and seven goals, but the team’s attacking progress will face a tougher examination against stronger opposition.
South Africa opened Mosimane’s second spell in charge with a 2-1 victory over Guinea before producing their most convincing performance so far, defeating Eritrea 5-0 in Cairo on Wednesday.
Those results have put Bafana Bafana in a strong position in their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying group. They have also generated optimism around a team that has shown greater attacking intent under Mosimane.
Relebohile Mofokeng was the leading scorer against Eritrea, finding the net twice to claim his first international goals. Oswin Appollis was another major influence, creating three goals with his assists.
The victory also highlighted the range of attacking options available to Mosimane. Mofokeng and Appollis were involved in the scoring, while Siphephelo Sithole and substitute Luther Singh also contributed to the 5-0 success.
Some criticism has centred on whether Bafana Bafana should have added to their tally against Eritrea. However, Mosimane’s return remains at an early stage, with the coach still assessing how to develop the team while combining emerging players with established experience.
Mosimane selected a 30-player squad with an average age of 24 and introduced five new players. He said the decision was not based solely on reducing the average age, with experience still an important part of his plans.
“We had to bring in five new players and had to bring young players, [some based in] Europe, give them the opportunity to play,” Mosimane said. “That’s all we wanted, to bring the age down, but also don’t focus only on bringing the age down; experience also helps.”
The coach believes the current squad already has a solid base, but wants further improvement in front of goal.
“The foundation is good. It’s the team coming from the World Cup. But just improve it a little bit and let’s try to score more goals,” he said.
The two opening matches have therefore given Bafana Bafana momentum in qualifying and provided Mosimane with encouraging evidence that his attacking approach can produce results. The next challenge will be determining whether that efficiency can be maintained when South Africa meet higher-quality opponents.
