CAIRO – A youthful, much-changed Bafana Bafana side beat Egypt 1-0 at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday, giving coach Pitso Mosimane a winning return to the city where he enjoyed some of his greatest club successes.
Puso Dithejane scored the only goal early in the second half as South Africa secured a third successive victory, following AFCON qualifying wins over Guinea and Eritrea.
The result rounded off a weekend in which Cameroon beat Ivory Coast in Abidjan, Mali held Morocco in Tangier and Uganda overcame DR Congo in Johannesburg.
With November’s AFCON 2027 qualifiers approaching, the friendlies allowed coaches to test younger players, assess combinations and identify weaknesses before the next round of competitive matches.
Mosimane’s youngsters rise to the challenge
Mosimane made nine changes to his starting line-up against Egypt, giving opportunities to players including Lebone Seema, Owethu Makhanya and Shandre Campbell.
According to the South African Football Association (SAFA), Dithejane rewarded that faith with the decisive goal shortly after the break.
Egypt enjoyed long spells of possession and pressed for an equaliser late on. Ibrahim Adel struck the crossbar in the closing stages, but Bafana held firm.
“The first five minutes we could not find our feet. It’s normal because we brought the young ones,” Mosimane said.
“What I like is they’re not afraid to play. We need to give them a chance and let them swim with the sharks.”
The victory maintained Mosimane’s winning record against Egypt coach Hossam Hassan. Mosimane won their three previous meetings in Egyptian club football while coaching Al Ahly, with Hassan in charge of Al-Ittihad of Alexandria.
It also gave South Africa a measure of revenge after their 1-0 defeat by Egypt at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
SAFA said President Cyril Ramaphosa attended Sunday’s match and visited the Bafana dressing room before kick-off.
Despite the encouraging results, Mosimane cautioned that qualification remained the priority.
“Football is not finished; it’s how you finish. We have to qualify for AFCON. It looks good now, but we haven’t arrived,” he said.
“We get Kenya back-to-back. That’s where everything will be. Those two games are going to determine our fate.”
Cameroon win the Clash of the Giants
Cameroon claimed a 1-0 victory over Ivory Coast at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara in Ebimpé, Abidjan, on Saturday.
Bill Nsongo struck two minutes into the second half, finishing from an Arthur Avom assist to settle the encounter billed as the Clash of the Giants.
The hosts controlled possession for long periods but could not break down Cameroon’s defence.
Ivory Coast coach Hervé Renard rested several regulars, including goalkeeper Yahia Fofana, Franck Kessié and Evan Ndicka, after winning both opening AFCON qualifiers.
He defended the decision to experiment.
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“I took risks with the starting eleven, because it was the only opportunity to test new players. I take responsibility for the risks I took, it is part of my job,” Renard said.
Cameroon coach David Pagou praised his players’ organisation and resilience, invoking Hemlè, the fighting spirit associated with the Indomitable Lions.
“When we’re well organised in defence, there’s always a foot, hand, head or body that will prevent the ball from entering the net,” he said.
“The Hemlè never dies. It’s an identity, it’s Cameroonian DNA.”
Pagou said the window had also allowed him to introduce young players, including match-winner Nsongo, ahead of November’s qualifiers.
Mali deny Morocco a winning finish
Morocco were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Grand Stade de Tanger on Sunday.
Abdessamad Ezzalzouli put the hosts ahead with a 33rd-minute penalty after a foul by Cheick Keita.
Mali improved after the interval and equalised in the 77th minute through Gaoussou Diarra, who converted from an Amadou Dante set piece.
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi welcomed the challenge after his team’s 2-0 qualifying victories over Gabon and Lesotho.
“We didn’t want to end the camp with an easy match. We’re very happy to have faced a strong team that caused us problems and showed a lot of quality,” he said.
“We saw a lot of positive things during this camp, but there are still areas we need to work on and improve.”
Ghana’s troubled window
Ghana had originally been scheduled to face Morocco in Tangier, but the match was cancelled amid turmoil in the Black Stars camp.
Their qualifying campaign began with a 2-0 defeat away to Ivory Coast, followed by a 4-2 home loss to Gambia after surrendering a two-goal lead in Accra.
Coach Carlos Queiroz then left by mutual agreement barely a month after his reappointment, with Ghana bottom of Group C without a point.
Reports offered conflicting explanations for the friendly’s cancellation. Some said Morocco called it off following Ghana’s setbacks, while others linked Ghana’s withdrawal to outstanding player payments.
Mali stepped in after their own proposed friendly against Tunisia fell through.
Uganda overpower DR Congo in Johannesburg
Uganda beat DR Congo 2-0 at FNB Stadium on Friday in the first of two friendlies between the teams in Johannesburg.
James Bogere opened the scoring after intercepting a pass from the Congolese goalkeeper. Kelvin Boateng Owusu added the second after the break, scoring his first goal for the Cranes.
ALSO READ: Nigeria Stunned, Ghana Pointless: AFCON 2027 Qualifying Has Already Torn Up The Script
Coach Paul Put’s defensive trio of Geoffrey Lubangakene, David Akpan Udoh and Gavin Kizito helped Uganda keep a clean sheet.
The victory brought together two sides leading their respective AFCON qualifying groups: Uganda in Group H and DR Congo in Group E.
They were scheduled to meet again in Johannesburg on Monday.
Heavy defeats abroad
Other African teams played outside the continent.
Senegal beat Comoros 1-0 at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille through an early Iliman Ndiaye goal. Burkina Faso suffered a 7-0 defeat by Argentina, while Namibia lost 6-0 to Russia.
The international window continues on Tuesday, when Nigeria face Russia in Nizhny Novgorod and Algeria host Niger in Tizi Ouzou.
AFCON qualifying resumes with two matchdays in November, followed by the final two in March 2027.
For Bafana, attention now turns to the back-to-back matches against Kenya. Sunday’s win showed the depth available to Mosimane, but the next test is turning that promise into qualifying points.
Weekend results on African soil
| Date | Match | Venue |
| Friday, 2 October | Uganda 2-0 DR Congo | FNB Stadium, Johannesburg |
| Saturday, 3 October | Ivory Coast 0-1 Cameroon | Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara, Abidjan |
| Sunday, 4 October | Egypt 0-1 South Africa | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo |
| Sunday, 4 October | Morocco 1-1 Mali | Grand Stade de Tanger, Tangier |
