South Africa vs Guinea AFCON Qualifier Preview
South Africa begin their campaign in Group D of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers with a home clash against Guinea.
Bafana Bafana often do their best work at home and will be confident of seeing off the West Africans, who have not been at the beat lately.
Key Stats
- South Africa are unbeaten in four of their last six matches in all competitions.
- South Africa are unbeaten in five of their last six home matches in all competitions.
- Guinea are winless in five of their last six matches in all competitions.
- Guinea have lost their last two matches in all competitions.
One Win Apiece
South Africa and Guinea have picked up one win each with one draw from three previous matches. The most recent meeting was an African Nations Championship clash in 2025, which ended 2-1 in favour of Bafana Bafana.
Bafana Bafana Targeting Positive Start
South Africa are coming off a decent showing at the World Cup in North America. They reached the knockout stage of the tournament before suffering a 1-0 defeat to co-hosts Canada.
Bafana Bafana will now head into this qualifying series with a new man at the helm after Pitso Mosimane was appointed to replace Hugo Broos.
Their overall form has been decent as they are unbeaten in four of their last six matches in all competitions, with a 1-0 victory over South Korea among their results.
The task for South Africa on Saturday will be to make a solid start to the qualifiers on home soil. They are often solid in front of their fans and are unbeaten in five of their last six home matches in all competitions, picking up three wins in this run.
Guinea Seeking their Spark
Guinea generally have a solid record in AFCON qualifiers and have played in five of the last eight tournaments. However, they missed out on the previous edition and will be keen to make things right this time around.
The last outing for Guinea was a friendly back in June as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland. They saw plenty of the ball but struggled to break down the Northern Irish defence.
That was the second straight defeat for Guinea, who were also beaten 1-0 by Benin Republic in their previous fixture. Their overall form has also been poor, having failed to win five of their last six matches in all competitions.
Team News & Predicted Line-ups
South Africa (4-2-3-1): Ronwen Williams; Aubrey Modiba, Khulumani Ndamane, Ime Okon, Thapelo Morena; Teboho Mokoena, Sphephelo Sithole; Thapelo Maseko, Relebohile Mofokeng, Tshepang Moremi; Oswin Appollis.
Defenders Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Khuliso Mudau are notable absentees for South Africa, with both men sidelined with injury. Khulumani Ndamane is expected to partner Ime Okon at centre-back while Oswin Appollis should feature in attack.
Guinea (4-2-3-1): Soumaila Sylla; Sekou Sylla, Mory Konate, Mohammed Soumah, Ibrahima Fofana; Ilaix Moriba, Ousmane Diabate; Aguibou Camara, Seydouba Cisse, Abdoul Traore; Serhou Guirassy.
Serhou Guirassy is expected to lead the line once again for Guinea, with Abdoul Traore providing support. Midfielder Ilaix Moriba returns after a period away from the national team and could earn a start here, while Mory Konate should feature in midfield.