Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Cavin Johnson believes Pitso Mosimane is making the right call by testing Bafana Bafana against some of Africa’s strongest football nations, with the upcoming clash against Egypt providing a valuable benchmark for the national team.
Johnson feels the high-profile friendly will give Mosimane a clearer picture of his squad’s progress, while exposing players to the intensity and quality they can expect against elite opposition on the continent.
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Mosimane’s side will face Egypt in an international friendly at Cairo International Stadium later tonight, following a perfect start to their AFCON qualifying campaign against Guinea and Eritrea.
Johnson believes Bafana should welcome the opportunity to test themselves against the continent’s best.
Ex-Bafana coach Hugo Broos previously questioned the value of playing high-profile opponents after his side suffered a 5-0 defeat to France, arguing that such matches could have a negative impact on a young squad.
Broos also turned down an opportunity to face Morocco when Mamelodi Sundowns players were unavailable because of their CAF commitments.
Johnson, who previously worked alongside Mosimane at Al Ahly, believes the Egypt match provides the current Bafana coach with an important opportunity to look beyond his established starting XI.
“You won both AFCON matches, and you won the last one by a significant margin. Against Egypt on Sunday, you should test the players who have not yet been tested so that you can make positive assessments ahead of your next match,” Johnson tells KickOff.
With AFCON scheduled for next year, Johnson feels Bafana cannot afford to avoid difficult assignments if they want to be properly prepared for the tournament.
“It is fair for Pitso to play against teams such as Egypt because AFCON is coming up next year. You need to play the strongest countries to prepare properly.”
However, Johnson also highlighted the importance of ensuring that international friendlies meet FIFA’s requirements if teams want the results to count towards their rankings.
“Several other factors affect rankings in friendly matches. I remember that we made a mistake once when we played Spain a long time ago. We beat them 1-0, but because Spain made eight substitutions, the match was not considered one that would affect the rankings. You must therefore comply with FIFA’s rules for a friendly to affect the rankings,” he added.