Defenders Ime Okon and Samukele Kabini scored their first goals for South Africa in a tense 2-1 win over Guinea on Saturday in 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.

Centre-back Okon, who plays for German second-tier club Hannover, hammered a loose ball into the net from close range to give the hosts a 30th-minute lead in Soweto.

Norway-based full-back Kabini, a second-half substitute for Aubrey Modiba, claimed the 77th-minute match-winner, racing through to beat goalkeeper Soumaila Sylla at his near post.

Guinea had equalised after 69 minutes when a free kick was not cleared and Seydouba Cisse reacted quickest to fire past captain Ronwen Williams.

The match marked the start of a second permanent spell in charge of South Africa for Pitso Mosimane, a three-time CAF Champions League-winning coach with Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly.

He has inherited from retired Belgian tactician Hugo Broos a team good at retaining possession, but lacking clinical finishing.

Much of the pre-match focus was on Guinea striker Serhou Guirassy, a prolific scorer for Borussia Dortmund, but winger Aliou Balde posed a greater threat with his pace and footwork.

South Africa were the fifth of 10 African participants at the 2026 World Cup after Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast and Morocco to begin AFCON qualifying with a win.

Egypt, Senegal and Tunisia drew and Cape Verde and Ghana lost.

Victory lifted South Africa to the top of Group D, ahead of Eritrea and Kenya, who drew 1-1 in Nairobi.

Nahom Girmai scored for the visitors in the first half and Ryan Ogam levelled on 87 minutes for Kenya, who will co-host the 2027 AFCON with Tanzania and Uganda.

Automatic qualifiers Kenya are in Group D to gain competitive match practice. Their presence leaves the other three teams competing for one place at the finals.

U20s eye COSAFA title

South African U20 men’s national team, Amajita, coach Raymond Mdaka says they have the character to complete the double when they face hosts Mozambique in the final of the CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations COSAFA Qualifier on Sunday.

Kick-off at the ABB Stadium in Matola is at 14:00. Both nations have qualified for the prestigious U20 AFCON, but now the battle is to determine who the regional champions are.

Mozambique booked their spot in the final after brushing aside Namibia in the semi-finals, while South Africa fought gallantly to come back from behind and defeat a strong Zambian side in the other last four match.

The defending champions are yet to lose in all four matches they have played in the competition, but the home side suffered a setback when they went down to Namibia in the group stages.

“This is the big one. We are playing against the hosts and from what we saw in their clash against Namibia, they already have a 12th man on the field in terms of support. But we have got boys who have the courage to stay in that kind of situation. We watched a bit of them, they are not different from what we got from Zambia, they’ve got very good individuals,” said Mdaka.

“We have done good so far and the confidence of the boys is OK on the basis that the main objective has been completed, even though we want to also fight and go back home with the trophy. All in all, we are good and ready to go and represent the country.”