Lehlohonolo Majoro believes Pitso Mosimane’s decision to build on Bafana Bafana’s existing foundation, rather than overhaul the squad, has been central to the coach’s perfect start to his second spell in charge of the national team.
Mosimane has won all three of his opening matches since returning to the Bafana dugout, beating Guinea 2-1 and Eritrea 5-0 in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers before securing a 1-0 friendly victory over Egypt.
For former Bafana striker Majoro, the early success is a product of continuity, with Mosimane recognising that he did not need to start from scratch when he returned to the national team.
“Coach Pitso said he didn’t have to change much and him returning for a second time doesn’t mean he has to change everything, the foundation has already been laid,” he said.
“There are players there who have been there for a while and yes there are inclusions of fresh faces but it’s built on a stable group of players.”
Rather than make wholesale changes, Mosimane has retained a core of established internationals while introducing new faces to strengthen competition for places.
Majoro believes that balance has allowed the coach to make an immediate impact without disrupting the team’s existing structure.
Another important part of Mosimane’s vision is building a squad with enough depth to maintain consistent performances, even when key players are unavailable or rested.
Majoro pointed to the coach’s ambition to replicate the Springboks’ approach, where several combinations can deliver at a similar level.
“I also heard him say he wants to replicate the Springboks in terms of depth, he wants to have 3/4 different teams and all of those teams can give you the same performance.”
That ambition was evident in Bafana’s 1-0 victory over Egypt, when Mosimane made wholesale changes after the emphatic win over Eritrea but still secured another positive result.
The victory completed a perfect international camp, with South Africa winning all three matches despite the different personnel used across the fixtures.
For Majoro, however, the results themselves are only part of the explanation. He believes Mosimane has already instilled a winning mentality within the group, allowing Bafana to find solutions even when their performances are not at their best.
“It was good for him and the group to start the qualifiers with back to back wins and even in situations where others may have felt that the performance must’ve been indifferent but they found a way to win and that’s the most important skill, if you have a team that’s willing to do anything to win than you’ve won as a coach.”
Bafana’s immediate focus will now be on carrying that momentum into their next competitive assignments, with the November AFCON qualifiers against Kenya presenting another test.
For Mosimane, the challenge will be to turn a promising start into sustained progress. Majoro’s assessment suggests that continuity, squad depth and a willingness to grind out results could prove central to that process.
