Pitso Mosimane Warns Bafana Bafana Stars Ahead of Facing Eritrea in Egypt

• Bafana Bafana travel to Cairo to face Eritrea in their second 2027 AFCON qualifying match on Wednesday at 18h00 SA time
• Coach Pitso Mosimane warned his squad not to underestimate Eritrea after the East Africans held Kenya to a 1-1 draw away from home
• Captain Ronwen Williams said team spirit remains high and the players have embraced the tactical changes Mosimane has introduced

Bafana Bafana will travel to Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday evening for their second Group D qualifier in the race to qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, with kickoff against Eritrea scheduled for 18h00 South African time.

Eritrea are hosting the match at the Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo because they do not have a Confederation of African Football-accredited venue within their own borders.

**Mosimane Urges Respect for Eritrea**

South Africa enter the fixture with confidence after defeating Guinea 2-1 at the Orlando Stadium in their opening qualifier last weekend. Coach Pitso Mosimane welcomed the result but made clear that his team cannot afford to relax against their next opponents.

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"I am happy with the result we got (in the first qualifier against Guinea), we got the result, and even the attitude was good. We need to show the same attitude against Eritrea because you can't give respect to Guinea and not accord the same to an Eritrea side that just claimed a point away from home in Kenya," Mosimane said.

Eritrea's performance in Nairobi underlines why Mosimane sounded the alarm. The East Africans held Kenya to a 1-1 draw at the Nyayo National Stadium, a result that earned them their first point of the qualifying campaign and signalled they are a side capable of causing upsets.

**Williams Highlights Strong Team Spirit**

Captain Ronwen Williams backed his coach's message and expressed confidence in the squad's collective mindset ahead of the Cairo fixture.

"The spirit and the energy amongst ourselves is always good and we have maintained that. The guys have been open to all the changes that the coach has implemented and one way to see that is through the tactical agreements we had in the previous game, to see some of the things we worked on in training ahead of the game," Williams said.

With six points still available in Group D after Wednesday's round of fixtures, both Bafana Bafana and Eritrea will be eager to gain the upper hand early in the qualifying series.

Source: Briefly News