South Africa national team coach Pitso Mosimane confirmed the absence of several key players from the upcoming friendly match against Egypt.
Egypt will host South Africa at 9:00 PM tomorrow, Sunday, in a friendly match held on the sidelines of the current international break, at Cairo International Stadium.
Egypt won (5-0) against South Sudan in the second round of the African qualifiers, after drawing with Angola in the first round.
Extensive changes in South Africa's lineup
According to the South African network "soccerladuma," Pitso Mosimane will conclude his first international break with the national team against Egypt, amid expected changes in the lineup.
South Africa will be without midfielders Tebogo Mokoena and Bathusi Aubaas. The South African Football Association stated: "The absences in midfield will represent the biggest challenge for Mosimane."
The statement added: "Bathusi Aubaas and Tebogo Mokoena are absent due to injury, and therefore will not participate in Sunday's match against Egypt."
Read more: The 10 most capped players for Egypt under Hossam Hassan
Mokoena suffered an injury late in the match where "Bafana Bafana" defeated Guinea (2-1) last week, leading to his absence from the victory over Eritrea (5-0).
Meanwhile, Aubaas replaced Mokoena on Wednesday evening, but his participation ended after only 12 minutes due to a severe injury.
Mosimane called up 30 players for the current training camp, which is being held during FIFA's extended international break, giving him wide options for player selection.
It is expected that Mosimane will field players who did not participate in the matches against Guinea and Eritrea, against Egypt, potentially including Chandre Campbell, Fawaz Badr-Eddine, and Thabang Matuludi.
Mosimane may also start Buso Dithethi, Xolomani Ndaman, and Chak Mathews, with a high likelihood of resting goalkeeper Ronen Williams in favor of Sibo Chaine and Ricardo Goss.
The report concluded that one reason for Mosimane's desire to make comprehensive changes is that this match against Egypt represents a golden opportunity to assess all players before the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
