Pitso Mosimane takes the pressure off Bafana Bafana by asserting that AFCON failure 'doesn’t mean you won’t do well at the 2026 FIFA World Cup'

Bafana Bafana are preparing to participate at the 2025 AFCON finals in Morocco, with the tournament running from December 21 to January 18. 

South Africa are in Group B where they will face neighbours Zimbabwe, Angola and seven-time Egypt, seeking passage to the knockout round of the competition. 

After claiming bronze the last time out in Ivory Coast, Bafana are expected to at least reach the final of AFCON. 

Also being one of the African teams that qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, South Africa is one of the revered sides at AFCON. 

But former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has moved in to assert that Hugo Broos and his side should not place themselves under pressure in Morocco and failure would hand them valuable lessons ahead of the World Cup.

“Sometimes, I always look at the positives and the challenges,” Mosimane said as per IOL. 

“The positive is that you prepare yourself for the World Cup. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that if you don’t do well at AFCON, then you won’t do well at the World Cup.  Sometimes, it tells you what you have and where you’ll be in six months’ time.    

“So, it’s an opportunity for both players and coaches. But the unfortunate thing is that when coaches don’t make it at AFCON, they don’t go to the World Cup. History tells you that. So, let’s see what happens.”

At AFCON, Bafana will participate already knowing what awaits them at the World Cup.

The draw for the tournament to be held in North America was conducted on Friday and Bafana find themselves in Group A alongside co-hosts Mexico, South Korea and the winner of the UEFA playoff D. 

They open the global football fiesta against Mexico in a rematch of the 2010 World Cup. 

Before the draw, Mosimane and Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie were prepared to see any opponents being drawn against Bafana.

"When you are in pot 3, you know that you will meet two other teams with a higher ranking, but these kinds of teams always cause trouble for the others in the group stage," said Mosimane.

McKenzie did not mind who was placed in the same group with Bafana.

 "I don't care who is put in front of us, and I don't care if they call our group the group of death or the easy group, because Bafana Bafana are champions," McKenzei said.  

"This team has undergone immense hatred. When points were deducted from us, Nigeria were celebrating, but this team just kept on. So for us to be in the World Cup, it shows you the type of champions we are."

Bafana are now expected to assemble in Pretoria on Monday to begin their preparations for the upcoming AFCON campaign. 

Coach Broos will start his camp straight returning from the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, USA, which he attended on Friday. 

The early start to camp is aimed for more training time and sharpening the team’s readiness for the continental tournament. 

However, SAFA has yet to confirm an international friendly opponent to help Bafana fine-tune their preparations. 

The team opens their AFCON campaign against Angola on December 22, as they now start their build-up schedule.