The Egyptian national team, led by Hossam Hassan, is preparing to face its counterpart, the South African national team, coached by Pitso Mosimane, tomorrow (Sunday) in a friendly match scheduled to be held at Cairo International Stadium.
Tomorrow's match against South Africa will be the third for the national team during the current international break, having previously played two matches against Angola and South Sudan as part of the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
Meanwhile, Pitso Mosimane, the former head coach of Al Ahly, is currently leading the South African national team, succeeding the experienced Belgian Hugo Broos. He has guided "Bafana Bafana" to victories over Guinea and Eritrea.
Read about the history of matches between Egypt and South Africa here
11 facts about South Africa before facing Egypt
1 - The South African Football Association (SAFA) was established in its modern form on December 8, 1991, following the unification of football bodies and the end of the apartheid era, while the roots of the first unofficial association or previous bodies date back to 1932.
2- The nickname of the South African national team (Bafana Bafana) in the local Zulu language literally translates to "The Boys" or "Boys... Boys," an expression used for encouragement and affirmation meaning: "Come on boys, do it!" The origin of the name dates back to when South African sports journalist Seipho Seleci launched this nickname in 1992 after the team's return to international participation following the abolition of the apartheid system. It was later officially adopted by the local federation as a trademark.
3- The South African national team ranks 54th globally in the latest FIFA ranking with 1451.24 points. On the continental level, it ranks 10th in Africa, noting that its best-ever ranking was 16th globally in August 1996.
4- The South African national team has participated in the final stages of the Africa Cup of Nations 12 times, starting with the 20th edition hosted on home soil in 1996, and most recently in the 35th edition held in Morocco in 2025.
5- The "Bafana-Bafana" squad won the Africa Cup of Nations title in 1996 at home after defeating the Tunisian national team (2–0) in their first appearance in the tournament, from which they had been excluded in the inaugural edition due to racial segregation.
6- The South African team achieved second place in their second appearance in the 1998 edition hosted by Burkina Faso, after losing to the Egyptian national team (0–2). They also finished third twice: first in their third participation in 2000 after beating Tunisia on penalties following a 2-2 draw, and second in the previous edition after winning on penalties against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
7- With gold in their first appearance, silver in the second, and bronze in the last, the results of the giant of sub-Saharan Africa declined in 7 of their other eight participations. They reached the quarter-finals in the 2002, 2013, and 2019 editions, while being eliminated in the group stage four times in the 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2015 editions.
8- South African stars topped the list of top scorers in the Africa Cup of Nations twice. The first was through Benedict McCarthy in the 1998 edition, sharing the honor with Egyptian Hossam Hassan after both scored 7 goals. The second came through Shaun Bartlett, who solely topped the scoring charts in the 2000 edition with 5 goals.
9- "Benny" McCarthy tops the list of South Africa's all-time top scorers in the Africa Cup of Nations with 7 goals, all scored in the 1998 edition in Burkina Faso: 4 against Namibia in the first round, 1 against Morocco in the quarter-finals, and 2 against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the semi-finals. McCarthy played 12 matches across the 1998, 2002, and 2006 editions, followed by
10- Shaun Bartlett comes in second among South Africa's top scorers with 6 goals, from playing 14 matches in the tournaments of 1996, 2000, and 2002. He scored his first goal against Ghana in the semi-final of the 1996 tournament, then added 5 goals in the 2000 edition against Gabon (two), the Democratic Republic of Congo, Algeria in the first round, and Tunisia in the third-place match.
11- Pitso Mosimane has won all his previous encounters against Hossam Hassan in all competitions; when he was coaching Al Ahly and Hassan was managing Al Ittihad Alexandria, with scores of (2-1 in the semi-final of the 2020 Egypt Cup, and 4-0 then 2-1 in the 2020-2021 Premier League).
