2027 AFCON Qualifiers: Okon and Kabini lead Bafana Bafana to a 2-1 win over the Syli National

South Africa defeated Guinea 2-1 on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, in their opening match of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. It was Pitso Mosimane's first match since returning to the Bafana Bafana bench.

Okon opens, Guirassy rallies, Kabini decides

Defender Ime Okon opened the scoring in the 30th minute from a corner kick, according to Senegal7. The Syli National struggled for a long time before waking up after the break: in the 69th minute, Seydouba Cissé equalized with a header from a free kick taken by Serhou Guirassy, as reported by Guinéenews. The Guinean joy lasted only eight minutes. In the 77th minute, Samukelo Kabini restored the South Africans' lead from a tight angle, the same media outlet reports.

Guinéenews highlights that Guinea dominated possession in the second half and showed "encouraging signs," without managing to convert that control into points. The Syli will need to correct their course quickly: their next match is against Kenya, a direct rival in the race for the top two spots.

A Group D already unbalanced

In the group's other match, played on the same day in Nairobi, Kenya was held to a 1-1 draw by Eritrea. South Africa is therefore the only team in the group to have won on this first matchday, an ideal scenario for a coach who needed to convince from his first official outing.

For Pitso Mosimane, the South African coach with the most extensive club CV on the continent, this success serves as a message: Bafana Bafana, long inconsistent on the African stage, want to regain a level of consistency worthy of their history. The match's narrative—opening the scoring, conceding an equalizer, and responding immediately—says something about this team: they knew how to react instead of just enduring.

Heading toward the Pamoja AFCON

These qualifiers lead to a unique edition: the 2027 AFCON will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda from June 19 to July 17, 2027, according to APAnews. It is a first for East Africa, a region that has long remained on the periphery of major continental events and will now host the celebration. To be there, both South Africa and Guinea will need to prove themselves over the course of a campaign that is only just beginning.