Bafana Bafana ended the international break on a high after securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Egypt in an international friendly at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday night.
Earlier in the day, President Cyril Ramaphosa met with the Bafana Bafana players in Cairo ahead of their clash with the Pharaohs.
Ramaphosa was in Egypt for the 8th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting and took the opportunity to visit the national team and wish them well ahead of the international friendly.
The President’s visit came as Bafana looked to build on their impressive start under returning head coach Pitso Mosimane, having already recorded victories over Guinea and Eritrea during the international window.
Mosimane made nine changes to the side that defeated Eritrea 5-0 in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, with only Ime Okon and Sphephelo Sithole retaining their places in the starting XI.
Egypt dominated possession during the opening stages and came close to breaking the deadlock when Omar Marmoush found space inside the box, but his curling effort went narrowly wide.
Bafana gradually grew into the contest, with right-back Thabang Matuludi providing an attacking threat from the flank. He twice came close to opening the scoring in the first half but failed to find the target.
South Africa eventually broke the deadlock six minutes after the restart.
Puso Dithejane pressed Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, won possession after the goalkeeper came off his line and calmly rounded a defender before slotting the ball into an empty net for his first senior international goal.
The goal capped an impressive senior debut for the young forward and gave Bafana a valuable lead against the hosts.
Egypt pushed for an equaliser as the match progressed, but South Africa’s defence stood firm.
Goalkeeper Ricardo Goss, introduced in the second half, produced two crucial saves to deny Egypt, including a superb stop from Hamza Abdelkarim’s powerful header.
The hosts came closest to levelling the scores late in the match when another header struck the crossbar, with Goss making another important intervention as Bafana held on for a memorable victory.
The result caps a perfect international window for Mosimane, who guided Bafana to three victories over Guinea, Eritrea and Egypt since returning to the national team.
For Dithejane, the night will be remembered for his composed debut and match-winning goal against one of Africa’s traditional football powerhouses.