Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane has made two changes after the 2-1 win over Guinea at the Orlando Amstel Arena last Saturday. Samuleke Kabini and Bathusi Aubaas have replaced the injured duo of Aubrey Modiba and Fawaaz Basadien.
Kick off is 18:00 at Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo, Egypt.
ERITREA VS SOUTH AFRICA STARTING LINE UPS
Eritrea: Yonathan Sultan (1), Hennos Asmelash (16), Jozef Misghina (33), Namrud Embaye (14), Jonas Idris (3), Ablelom Teklezghi (8), Tesfaldet Tekie (9), Nahom Netabay (20), Esrom Yohannes (12), Filmon Gerezgiher (7), Ali Suleman (10)
Substitutes: Malik Abdurahman, Yoel Kebreab, Mussie Beraky, Yonathan Sebhatu, Nahom Tadese, Yoel Gerezgiher, Yoel Yilma, Yonael Yonas, Awet Isaac, Awet Alemseged, Fahmi Ibrahim, Maiil Lundgren, Nobel Gebrezghi, Romel Abdu
South Africa: Williams (c), Okon, Makhanya, Kabini, Sebelebele, Sithole, Aubaas, Mofokeng, Appollis, Maseko, Rayners.
Substitutes: Chaine, Mbuthuma, Matuludi, Morena, Singh, Seema, Ndamane, Basadien, Mailula, Poggenpoel, Zwane.
Bafana Bafana will head into Wednesday’s clash with Eritrea full of confidence after last weekend’s victory over Guinea. Ime Okon opened the scoring for South Africa before Guinea equalised through Seydouba Cisse. Samukele Kabini then came off the bench to score the winner and hand Pitso Mosimane victory in his first competitive match back in charge of the national team.
Eritrea will also arrive with confidence after holding Kenya to a 1-1 draw in Nairobi. Nahom Girmai Netabay put Eritrea ahead before the hosts eventually found an equaliser.
The result serves as a reminder that Bafana Bafana cannot afford to take the fixture lightly, despite South Africa sitting significantly higher than Eritrea in the FIFA rankings.
For Mosimane and his players, the objective is clear: secure another three points and strengthen their position in Group D.
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BAFANA BAFANA IN THE TOP 50
South Africa have now moved from 54th to 50th in the provisional FIFA rankings, putting them back inside the global top 50 for the first time since 2011.
The timing makes the achievement particularly significant for Mosimane. South Africa’s last appearance inside the FIFA top 50 came in October 2011, when Bafana Bafana reached 49th in the world during Mosimane’s first spell as head coach. Historical FIFA ranking data records the 49th position on 19 October 2011.
Mosimane’s return has therefore coincided with Bafana Bafana reaching a ranking position that the team last occupied during his previous tenure.
The victory over Guinea also puts South Africa ninth among African nations in the latest live ranking picture.
