Egypt pushed for an equaliser late on, but Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Sage Goss produced crucial saves, while the hosts also struck the crossbar in stoppage time. Pitso Mosimane made several changes throughout the match as Bafana held on for an impressive win.
BELOW IS HOW IT ALL HAPPENED…
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Game over in Cairo. The referee blows his whistle three times. It ends Egypt 0-1 Bafana Bafana.
90′ ⚽️ So close! Goss with a wonderful save, Egypt also hit the bar with a rebound. . It remains Egypt 0-1 Bafana Bafana.
83′ ⚽️ Shot! Hamza from the edge of the box but the effort baloons over.
71′ ⚽️ Great save. A powerful header from Egypt’s Hamza is denied by Goss. It remains Egypt 0-1 Bafana Bafana.
64′ ⚽️ Chance! Mbuthuma with a great run but his cross to Campbell is too early.
62′ ⚽️ Substitution: Mbuthuma replaces Mailula.
51′ ⚽️ Goal! Dithejane scores on debut after doing well to press goalkeeper Shobeir who lost position in the moment. Egypt 0-1 Bafana Bafana.
46′ ⚽️ The second half is underway. Triple change for South Africa: Matthews, Singh and Okon make way for Campbell, Moremi and Ndamane.
HALF TIME: EGYPT 0-0 BAFANA BAFANA
45′ ⚽️ Half time. The referee blows his whistle three times to send the teams to the break. It ends Egypt 0-0 Bafana Bafana.
38′ ⚽️ What a shot! Singh plays through Matuludi. The Mamelodi Sundowns right back takes a powerful first time shot but it wheezes narrowly over the bar. Very dangerous!
30′ ⚽️ Easy save. Mailula takes a shot from the right channel but it is too soft to trouble Shobeir. The score remains Egypt 0-0 Bafana Bafana.
27′ ⚽️ Bafana’s best attack of the night! Dithejane plays through Basadien but his cross is blocked for a corner. Dithejane’s hits a volley from the corner set piece but goes very wide.
20′ ⚽️ Chance! Matuludi shoots across the face of goal with a cross-cum shot after a great pass from Matthews. It remains Egypt 0-0 Bafana Bafana.
12′ ⚽️ Great shot! Hany hits a great volley from the edge of the box but it flies over.
9′ ⚽️ Tight miss! Marmoush finds good space on the left but his curler goes narrowly wide. It remains Egypt 0-0 Bafana Bafana.
6′ ⚽️ Corner kick for Egypt after a Matuludi tackle. The first set piece of the night.
2′ ⚽️ Great defending. Seema keeps his cool to deny Marmoush entry into the box.
1′ ⚽️ Kick off! We’re underway in Cairo!
STARTING LINE UPS: EGYPT VS BAFANA BAFANA
Bafana Bafana starting line up: Chaine (GK), I. Okon, L. Seema, T. Matuludi, F. Basadien, S. Sithole, B. Poggenpoel, T. Matthews, P. Dithejane, L. Singh, C. Mailula.
Substitutes: Williams (GK), Rayners, Mbuthuma, Zwane, Campbell, Moremi, Kabini, Morena, Makhanya, Ndamane, Sibisi, Goss (GK).
Egypt starting line up: Shobeir; Hany, Rabia, Abdelmuguid, Karim, Mohamed, Attia, Ashour, Ibrahim, Marmoush, Zizo.
Substitutes: Mahdy, Alaa, El Balayouti, Tarek, Fayed, Fatouh, Saber, Ali, Zizo, Osama, Hamza.
The game will be televised on SABC 3.
Both Bafana Bafana and Egypt enter the clash with confidence after recording identical 5-0 victories in their respective 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches earlier this week.
Coach Pitso Mosimane has rung the starting line up changes with no less than nine.
Hossam Hassan’s Egypt thrashed South Sudan away from home, while Bafana Bafana produced a dominant performance against Eritrea in Cairo.
The spotlight will also be on South Africa head coach Pitso Mosimane. He returns to familiar territory after enjoying major success in Egypt during his club coaching career.
Mosimane has indicated that he could make several changes to his starting lineup as he looks to test different combinations and give other squad members an opportunity against top opposition.
Also read: New report: Chelsea among four European clubs interested in Bafana Bafana star Relebohile Mofokeng
