Preview: South Africa vs. Guinea - prediction, team news, lineups

Pitso Mosimane leads out South Africa for the third time — and second as permanent manager — against Guinea on Saturday, as Bafana Bafana aim to start 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying on a positive note.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly manager returns to the national team following Hugo Broos’s retirement, with the goal of navigating a challenging Group D, where they are competing for one slot due to the presence of Kenya — co-hosts of AFCON 2027 — in the group.

Match preview

Mosimane’s coaching career has taken him across various nations and multiple continents to differing levels of success, but he returns to his home country with something to prove.

The former Sundowns manager was in charge when Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the 2012 finals in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, just two years after hosting the 2010 World Cup on the continent.

Not qualifying for 2010 and 2012 ended South Africa’s run of seven consecutive tournaments reaching the finals.

While the 1996 African champions have not matched that run since, they begin their quest to qualify for a third consecutive tournament for the first time since they successfully navigated qualifications for the 1996, 1998 and 2000 editions.

The one-time continental victors owe much of their current standing to Broos, who retired after leading South Africa to the knockout stage in a World Cup for the first time, exiting to co-hosts Canada in the round of 32.

Now, Mosimane returns to the hot seat, looking to secure the sole qualifying slot in Group D at Guinea’s expense.

Ideally, two spots should be available in the group, but Kenya’s presence in Group D limits the margin for error for everyone else.

Guinea, who missed AFCON 2025, last failed to participate in consecutive finals in 2000 and 2002, the latter being a result of disqualification due to political interference, and they hope to return to the continental showpiece for next year’s finals.

However, Syli National’s preparations have been hampered by challenges regarding travel documents for Saturday’s trip to Orlando Stadium, while a few key players are understood to have declined invites to the squad for the September-October international window.

That situation is concerning, especially given Paulo Duarte’s side’s form heading into this weekend, with the National Elephants winless in four matches, losing two consecutive friendlies.

Having lost both away matches in qualifying for the 2025 finals without scoring in 1-0 defeats to DR Congo and Tanzania, Guinea face a tough challenge to perform in Johannesburg, where South Africa undoubtedly head in as favourites to secure maximum points.

South Africa form (all competitions):

Guinea form (all competitions):

Team News

After being included in the preliminary squad, Mosimane excluded Lyle Foster from the final group to face Guinea and Eritrea over the coming seven days.

However, household names such as Ronwen Williams, Teboho Mokoena and Relebohile Mofokeng are included in the squad and should likely start in goal, midfield and attack, respectively.

Bafana Bafana also welcome five new faces: Lebone Seema, Brooklyn Poggenpoel, Yanela Mbuthuma, Puso Dithejane and Tashreeq Matthews are all part of the group that will commence the AFCON 2027 qualifiers, with Dithejane’s directness and versatility across the attack making him an intriguing option for Mosimane.

Serhou Guirassy headlines Guinea’s squad, and the 30-year-old forward aims to begin the qualifying series positively.

However, in addition to the visa issues that affected preparation, Duarte also faced the refusal of Naby Keita to join the squad, while Mohamed Mady Camara, Cheick Oumar Conde, Dembo Sylla, Morgan Guilavogui, Issiaga Sylla and Mohamed Bayo are all absent.

Ilaix Moriba returns to the squad for the first two matches in AFCON 2027 qualifying, and Aboubacar Keita could debut for the national team in Johannesburg.

South Africa possible starting lineup:

Williams; Morena, Okon, Sibisi, Basadien; Mokoena, Sithole; Mofokeng, Zwane, Maseko; Rayners

Guinea possible starting lineup:

Sylla; Konate, Diakhaby, Sow, Keita; Toure, Moriba, Cisse; Sylla, Guirassy, Diaby-Fadiga

We say: South Africa 2-1 Guinea

Although Guinea have a dangerous attacking focal point in Guirassy, their recent struggles to score on the road and increasing off-field distractions render them vulnerable in Johannesburg.

With Mosimane keen to mark his return with a statement win and a highly motivated Bafana Bafana side supported by strong home backing, the hosts should have more than enough quality to secure maximum points.

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