Relebohile Mofokeng shines with a brace as Pitso Mosimane’s Bafana put five past Eritrea

South Africa (2) 5

Mofokeng 19’, 46’, Sithole 52’, Rayners 63’, Singh 90+ 

Eritrea (0) 0

Relebohile Mofokeng produced a starring performance as Bafana Bafana crushed Eritrea 5-0 at the Al Salam Stadium in Egypt to make it two wins from two in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.

The Orlando Pirates Academy product, who now plays his football in Belgium, finally opened his account under Pitso Mosimane, scoring twice in a dominant display that helped South Africa maintain their perfect start in Group D.

Mofokeng had already come close earlier in the match when he struck the upright, but he made no mistake in the 19th minute.

The 21-year-old was played through on goal by Oswin Appollis and showed composure beyond his years, calmly slotting past the Eritrea goalkeeper to give Bafana the lead.

Despite taking control of the scoreboard, South Africa were not entirely convincing in the opening stages, with Mosimane’s side forced to adjust after losing key midfield figures.

Teboho Mokoena missed the match through injury, while his replacement Bathusi Aubaas was forced off early after picking up a knock, leaving Bafana to reshuffle their midfield.

But they continued to find spaces in attack, and Mofokeng doubled their advantage in first-half stoppage time with a moment of individual brilliance.

The attacker collected the ball inside the box, weaved past several defenders and calmly found the bottom corner to score a memorable second goal of the evening.

Bafana put the result beyond doubt shortly after the restart when Sphephelo Sithole added a third in the 52nd minute.

The midfielder, who was handed the opportunity in the absence of Mokoena, marked his contribution with a composed finish as South Africa continued to punish Eritrea.

Iqraam Rayners added a fourth the 63rd minute, finally giving Bafana a goal from a recognised striker after defenders had rescued them in their opening qualifier against Guinea, before Luther Singh completed the 5-0 rout in the referee’s stoppage time. 

The victory keeps Mosimane’s side firmly in control of their AFCON qualification campaign, with South Africa collecting maximum points from their opening two matches.

Bafana will now turn their attention to their friendly against Egypt on Sunday, before returning to qualifying action later in the campaign.