By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Bafana Bafana cruised to a 5-0 victory over Eritrea in the 2027 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers at a neutral Cairo on Wednesday, 30 September 2026.
South Africa have a full haul of six points from their first two qualifiers under new coach Pitso Mosimane, while Kenya (one point) and Guinea (zero) meet in their second encounter in Conakry on Thursday. Eritrea have a single point from two games.
Eritrea started the stronger of the two teams and should have claimed an early lead through forward Ali Sulieman.
Boitumelo Mofokeng broke the deadlock for Bafana Bafana after receiving a perfect pass from Oswin Appollis before converting with a low shot into the bottom corner.
Mofokeng completed his brace on the stroke of half-time to send the away side to a 2-0 lead going into the tunnel at the interval.
In the early minutes of the second half, Bafana Bafana scored the third goal courtesy of Sphephelo Sithole, who pounced on a rebound after the opponents’ goalkeeper couldn’t handle the initial shot from Appollis.
Bafana Bafana took the scoreline to four goals after Iqraam Rayners joined the party when he hit the back of the net in the 63rd minute.
In the dying minutes, Luther Singh came on as a second-half substitute to score the fifth goal for the visitors.
The AFCON qualifying campaign resumes in November, with South Africa playing back-to-back matches against Kenya, while Eritrea will do the same against Guinea. Bafana Bafana will next play a friendly against Egypt in Cairo on Sunday, 4 October.