Bafana Bafana produced a dominant performance to thrash Eritrea 5-0 in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday night.
South Africa had to withstand an early spell of pressure from Eritrea, who hit the post in the opening stages, before settling into the match and taking control.
Relebohile Mofokeng opened the scoring in the 19th minute before completing his brace in first-half stoppage time to give Bafana a 2-0 lead at the break.
Yaya Sithole added a third in the 52nd minute shortly after the restart, before Iqraam Rayners made it 4-0 in the 62nd minute. Substitute Luther Singh completed the rout in added time.
While Bafana were clinical in attack, captain Ronwen Williams also produced a commanding display in goal, making several important saves to keep Eritrea at bay.
The victory means Bafana have collected six points from their opening two qualifiers and have scored seven goals in the process.
Mosimane acknowledged Eritrea’s strong start and stressed the importance of respecting their opponents, particularly dangerous forward Ali.
No coach will not be happy with five goals. We are happy with five goals, we’re happy with three points. Eritrea started very good, very strong and they had a chance, they hit the post,” Mosimane said.
The Bafana coach said the team had studied Eritrea’s performances and knew they could pose a threat.
We had to give them the respect that they deserve. I’m happy that we won. That’s more important, two games, get six points and a few goals if possible,” he added.
Mosimane was also pleased with the way his players responded despite a number of absences, with several young players given an opportunity following injuries and other setbacks.
From the team that came from the World Cup, we had five players out, injured, and we had one who passed on, may his soul rest in peace, Jayden. We had to bring five new players and we had to bring young players from Europe and give them a chance and opportunity to play,” he said.
The coach highlighted Mofokeng’s performance and praised the youngster for showing his quality on the international stage.
And Rele shows his class. I mean, what a class! Rele is a top player,” Mosimane said.
The victory was also significant for some of the newcomers. Brooklyn Poggenpoel was introduced in the 16th minute after Bathusi Aubaas was forced off with an injury, with Mosimane praising the youngster for stepping up.
He played very well. He played like he’s been playing all the time,” the coach said.
Bafana’s injury concerns, however, continued during the match. Aubaas joined Teboho Mokoena and Aubrey Modiba on the list of players unavailable due to injury.
We are losing a lot of players in the midfield,” Mosimane said, explaining that the absences could leave the team short of central midfield options for their next match.
The coach also praised Oswin Appollis for his contribution, noting his two assists, while Luther Singh’s return to the national team was another positive.
I’m happy with the two assists from Appollis. Good boy, good player,” Mosimane said.
“He gave Luther Singh the opportunity to come back, he’s been out for a long time, to score. And even Luther gave two balls, two assists. That shows that the players are together, no selfishness.”
Eritrea head coach Hesham Yaka acknowledged the difficulty of facing Bafana, describing South Africa as a top-ranked African side with considerable experience.
We faced a team that is classified as a top five team in Africa, it was difficult,” Yaka said.
Bafana Bafana will now shift their attention to an international friendly against Egypt at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday, 4 October 2026.