Former Pirates Star Advocates for African Opponents in Bafana Bafana Friendlies
As Bafana Bafana prepare for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, former Orlando Pirates midfielder Solomon Mathe has emphasized the importance of facing fellow African nations in pre-tournament friendlies rather than global football powerhouses.
South Africa have been drawn into a challenging Group B alongside Egypt, Angola, and Zimbabwe. Ahead of the tournament, head coach Hugo Broos has scheduled just one friendly against Zambia this Saturday at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. The decision has sparked debate, with some suggesting South Africa should play top-ranked teams like Argentina or Brazil to test themselves.
Mathe, now an assistant coach at Motsepe Foundation Championship side Lerumo Lions, believes playing African teams better prepares Bafana for the specific challenges of AFCON. “You know everyone has different opinions, but it’s good to play against African countries because we’re preparing for AFCON. If it was the World Cup, I’d also have loved to see us playing European countries,” he said.
He explained that European and South American teams approach games differently. “Europeans and Americans like Argentina, Brazil would give us a tough test, but African countries play differently. Most European teams allow more space and time on the ball, whereas African teams wouldn’t do that.”
Mathe added that facing European sides could give a misleading sense of readiness. “Imagine you play those Europeans, have enough time on the ball, and think your team is ready and buzzing. Then you meet an African country, where they don’t allow you that. The same people will then say the team isn’t well prepared because they can’t play when they aren’t given more time on the ball.”
Bafana’s friendly against Chipolopolo will kick off at 15:00 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Mathe’s perspective highlights the need for tactical and physical preparation tailored to African opponents ahead of AFCON, rather than purely high-profile global tests.
