Bafana’s Mosimane wary of McCarthy: ‘He will never allow us to win!’

Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane insists South Africa legend Benni McCarthy will make it hard for them in the next 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

Mzansi will face the Harambee Stars in the back-to-back outings scheduled for November 13 and 17 respectively. Mosimane, who took over from Hugo Broos, helped the national team beat Guinea 2-1 before claiming a 5-0 victory over Eritrea in Group D.

Kenya, who are already qualified by virtue of being the co-hosts with Uganda and Tanzania, drew 1-1 versus Eritrea before falling by a solitary goal to Guinea away in Conakry.

Despite coming into the game as favourites, Jingles has warned that McCarthy will be aiming at causing an upset when the two nationa meet.

It looks good, but…

Currently, Bafana Bafana are top of the pool with maximum points from two fixtures, while the National Elephants of Guinea come in second with three. Both the Harambee Stars and Red Sea Camels have a point each.

“Football is not how you start; it’s how you finish. So, I’m a very conservative coach, and I have nerves of steel, you know, because we still have to qualify for AFCON,” Mosimane told SABC News.

“It looks good now, but we’ve got Kenya back-to-back, so that’s where everything will be [clearer]. And Benni will never allow us to win, you know that,” he concluded.

After matchday one and two, both nations played international friendly games; Bafana Bafana beat Egypt 1-0 at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday night courtesy of Puso Dithejane’s strike while Kenya and Rwanda played to a goalless draw at the Amahoro Stadium on Monday evening.