Bafana Bafana tipped to beat Egypt 'there was no tactical masterclass against Zimbabwe' – Pharaohs 'don’t look much of a team' but South Africa 'believe in themselves'

South Africa and Egypt are set to clash on Friday at the Grande Stade d’Agadir for their second 2025 Africa Cup of Nations game.

The meeting on Friday brings back memories of the 2019 Round of 16 showdown that South Africa won on Egyptian soil. Thembinkosi Lorch, who is not in the current squad, scored the winning goal for Bafana Bafana in the 85th minute as they broke  Egyptian hearts with a 1-0 victory.

Stuart Baxter, the man who was in charge of Bafana during the famous victory in Cairo, has stated that the Egyptian team in Morocco is not a convincing one. 

“I was not impressed with Egypt, I have to say. I think Egypt look like a bunch of very good players. They don’t look much of a team, and South Africa at the moment have got players who look like a team," Baxter told News24.

“South Africa have players that believe in themselves and in the way they want to play. They believe in each other. Egypt’s quality got them out of trouble against Zimbabwe. There was no tactical masterclass. I don’t think they are going to get by on just that.

“The South African team is well-drilled and has high confidence. Unless we get it wrong mentally, and you can get it wrong mentally by being too complacent or anxious," he explained.

"If we approach it in a balanced way, we can be a little bit arrogant in this game. We can say we are in good shape, and you don’t look like you’re in good shape. That’s a scenario where I see South Africa beating Egypt."

The 73-year-old tactician has also recalled the unforgettable night in Cairo and explained how Bafana silenced a partisan crowd at the stadium.

“Given the 75,000 Egyptians, their home turf, the quality of the opposition, and its importance to their country, given all those things, I don’t think I have been prouder of an occasion," he said.

“When the goal went in, you could have heard a pin drop. It became deadly silent. There were about 30 South African supporters, and when we scored, you could only hear them. It was almost spooky that so many people could be so quiet.

“When we went into the game, we said one of the first things we needed to do was shut the crowd up. We couldn’t let the crowd be optimistic."

This time around, Bafana and the record AFCON champions meet again, but far away from their respective home crowds.

In order to silence the Egyptians and demoralise them, Baxter and Bafana had to come up with a special plan. According to the tactician, the strategy worked really well for them.

“The first 15 minutes had to be frustrating for them. We could frustrate them by being better than they think we are. That was the first level we mitigated. Fifteen minutes into the game, we quieted the crowd. That was a really important part of the game because after that, we got more and more of a foothold in the game," the experienced coach said.

“Our players started to feel that our game plan was actually working. They are not dominating us; we are well in this game, and the longer it goes, the more we have that feeling of belief, and then they have the opposite.

“They were more tactically smart, so we had to outsmart them.
“We knew we had to take the talent and the flair and make it practical. We said if they think we are going to go to a lower block and be defending, we’ll get up and press them high. We played a really high press and tried to stop the ball from getting to their best players," he continued.

“We said we’ll put the defenders under pressure when they get the ball, so that first ball gives us a chance in the midfield if it’s a bad ball. If we didn’t do that, we would open the game. Without the tactical understanding, it would have been hard to make it work.

“That shook the Egyptian belief, and gradually we started playing better and immersed ourselves. The goal was a great goal, and it never looked like they were going to get back into it."