(Watch) South Africa 1-0 Ghana: Bafana Bafana test depth in Black Stars friendly before AFCON | OneFootball

South Africa edge Ghana in friendly

(Watch) South Africa 1-0 Ghana: Bafana Bafana test depth in Black Stars friendly before AFCON

South Africa continued their preparations for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations with narrow 1-0 friendly victory over Ghana on Tuesday evening.

The match played at Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto served as a key warm-up for the Bafana Bafana ahead of AFCON 2025 which will be hosted by Morocco from December 21 to January 18 featuring 24 national teams.

Mbule Strike seals the win

After a balanced first half ended goalless, South Africa found the breakthrough in the 57 minute. Midfielder Sipho Mbule produced powerful long-range effort to score the decisive goal and secure the win for the hosts.

The encounter saw both sides enjoy spells of possession although South Africa held slight edge overall particularly after the interval.

Experimental Lineup for Bafana Bafana

South Africa coach opted to field largely second-string squad, with several senior internationals only joining the camp shortly before kick-off.

In addition, four Europe-based players were not included as they travelled directly to Morocco to link up with the squad ahead of the tournament.

Ghana meanwhile were represented by non-first-choice team with the Black Stars failing to qualify for the upcoming AFCON finals.

South Africa have been drawn into Group B of the Africa Cup of Nations alongside:

Their tournament schedule begins with a clash against Angola on 22 December followed by high-profile meeting with Egypt on 26 December before concluding the group stage against Zimbabwe on 29 December.