Pitso Mosimane
Pitso Mosimane praised Guinea's coach Paulo Duarte for ranking the Bafana Bafana among the top three African teams following South Africa's victory in their opening match of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers.
Duarte made this statement after Guinea's 2-1 defeat to the Bafana Bafana at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday, mentioning South Africa alongside continental giants Morocco and Senegal.
“In my opinion, the three best teams on the continent are Morocco, Senegal, and South Africa,” Duarte said at his post-match press conference.
Mosimane, who is starting his second term as head coach of the Bafana Bafana, expressed his gratitude for the compliments received after his team's significant victory in their first Group D match, but quickly emphasized that South Africa still has much to prove.
“If that’s his assessment, it’s flattering,” Mosimane said. “We won the bronze medal [at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2023], so maybe that’s why, yes. But we still have a long way to go. We are a good team, we played well, but we are still in the building phase.”
The Bafana Bafana started their qualifying campaign strongly, with defender Ime Okon, playing in Germany, opening the scoring in the first half before Guinea equalized through Seydouba Cissé.
Substitute Samukelo Kabini then restored South Africa's lead in the 77th minute, giving Mosimane victory in his first official match since returning to the national team.
