BAFANA Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane has announced a 24-man squad to face Egypt in the crucial 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier. The match will be played at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg on March 26. 

Mosimane has called up a further eight players for observation. These players will be released back to their clubs this coming Sunday.

“The eight players are some of those who are having a very good season at their clubs, and I want to work with them so I can have a closer look at them. I have invited them to camp so I can introduce them to what we do here so that when a need arises I can call them up again. I will be working with them from Thursday to Sunday. It’s not enough time but it is a worthwhile exercise,” said coach Mosimane.

This will be Bafana Bafana’s third match in the qualifiers, and perhaps Mosimane’s biggest challenge to date. After two matches, South Africa is top of the group with four points, followed by Niger and Sierra Leone who are on three and two points respectively. Egypt is bottom of the group with just one point.

“We are playing at home and our main aim is to get three points. We should not underestimate our opponents because of the current standings on the table and the fact that their country has been unstable. In fact, they will be more dangerous as they believe this is the time to win and get their campaign back on track. Many think the Egyptian team has been idle, actually, they have been working hard at training. They have played six more matches than us in preparing for this clash with us, so we need to be extra careful in our approach,” said the head coach.

Mosimane added that for this crucial clash he will need his senior players to show leadership in all aspects of the match.

“This is the kind of match where the senior players must take the lead. The likes of Steven Pienaar, Kagisho Dikgacoi, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Bernard Parker and Katlego Mphela have the experience from the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup is going to be crucial in this encounter. The Pharaohs are the African Champions and for that we will respect them but not overdo it. For us to win, we need to have the same mentality and spirit that we had when we played against France in our last match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  Our objective is to open the gap at the top,” said Mosimane.

The team goes into camp on Wednesday, 16 March 2011 at the Southern Sun Monte Casino in Fourways.

They departed for the Royal Marang Hotel in Phokeng/Rustenburg today where they will set up camp. They will also hold their training sessions at the hotel grounds.

Bafana Bafana returns to Johannesburg next week Thursday, March 24. 

Egypt is expected in South Africa on Sunday. Tickets are already on sale at Computicket and Shoprite outlets countrywide. Lower tier tickets will cost one hundred rand (R100) and fifty rand (R50) for upper tier tickets. 

Bafana Bafana Team List: 

 ADDITIONAL PLAYERS