Bafana Bafana ended the international break on a high after defeating Egypt 1-0 at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday night.
Pitso Mosimane took a massive gamble by fielding a fringe XI against a talent-stacked Pharaohs side in their own backyard.
The gamble paid off though, thanks to Puso Dithejane’s solitary strike, which secured a third consecutive win since Mosimane took over as head coach.
The Egyptians started the brighter of the two sides and could easily have taken an early lead, but both Omar Marmoush and Marwaan Ateya failed to hit the target from good positions early on.
Bafana’s first clear chance came in the 20th minute when Thabang Matuludi fired wide from inside the box after good work down the right by Tashreeq Matthews.
Matuludi came even closer just before the break, but his shot across the face of goal flashed just over the crossbar, leaving both teams deadlocked at 0-0 heading into half-time.
Puso Dithejane broke the deadlock in the 50th minute after latching onto a long ball from Shandre Campbell, bypassing the onrushing goalkeeper, and finishing with complete composure into an empty net.
Egypt pushed hard for an equaliser as the match drew to a close, but Bafana Bafana stood firm, shutting the hosts out until the final whistle to seal a famous win in Cairo.
The victory completes an incredible fortnight for Pitso Mosimane, who opened his tenure as Bafana head coach with a solid 2-1 victory over Guinea in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers before routing Eritrea 5-0.
Closing out the international window with a win over Egypt, after fielding a fringe starting XI, is the cherry on top for Jingles.
Bafana Bafana will next be in action in November, continuing their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign with back-to-back fixtures against Kenya home and away.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
