Eritrea and South Africa meet in the second round of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, with Bafana Bafana looking to build on their opening victory over Guinea.
South Africa began their Group D campaign with a 2-1 win over Guinea, while Eritrea earned an important 1-1 draw against Kenya in Nairobi.
The results leave South Africa top of the group after Matchday One, while Eritrea have one point.
The fixture will be played in Egypt, with Eritrea using the neutral venue for the match. CAF confirmed that South Africa’s second qualifier would take place in Cairo rather than Eritrea.
With Kenya already guaranteed a place at the 2027 AFCON finals as co-hosts, Group D has a particularly unusual qualification structure: only the highest-ranked team among South Africa, Guinea and Eritrea will qualify alongside Kenya.
Bafana Bafana have retained much of the core that represented the country at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with head coach Pitso Mosimane in charge.
This will be the first competitive match played between these two nations and we have a look at both sides and offer our predicted outcome.
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What time does Eritrea vs South Africa start?
The match kicks off at 7PM E.A.T at the Al Salam Stadium
Eritrea vs South Africa team news
Eritrea’s squad showed considerable discipline against Kenya and will likely retain a similar approach against South Africa.
The Red Sea Camels are not expected to make any changes from the side that played out to a 1-1 draw at the Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi last Saturday.
Mosimane is expected to make a couple of changes to the side that narrowly beat Guinea, with Samukelo Kabini tipped to start after coming off the bench to score the winning goal.
Thapelo Maseko and Iqraam Rayners will both feature in the starting XI for the visitors as well.
Sphephelo Sithole and Oswin Appollis will also be key parts of the South African attack.
Eritrea vs South Africa head-to-head and current form
These teams have not played a competitive fixture against each other.
South Africa have been regular participants at the Africa Cup of Nations and recently competed at the 2026 World Cup, while Eritrea have been much less active on the international stage.
However, Eritrea’s performance against Kenya shows that the gap in experience does not automatically translate into an easy victory.
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Current form:
Eritrea – DWWLD
South Africa – WLWDL
Eritrea vs South Africa prediction
Bafana have the stronger squad and come into the match after beating one of their main Group D rivals, Guinea.
South Africa’s defensive quality could make it difficult for Eritrea to replicate their scoring performance against Kenya.
Prediction – South Africa to win or draw (X2)