First goal crucial for Bafana Bafana under Pitso Mosimane

Mosimane has taken charge of 26 matches across his three spells with the national side, with his 27th coming on Friday when they host Kenya in a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at Orlando Stadium.

In the 13 matches in which his side have scored first, Bafana have gone on to win 12, an excellent record that highlights their ability to protect a lead.

The only exception was a 2-1 friendly defeat to Zimbabwe in 2011, when debutant Bradley Grobler opened the scoring before Knowledge Musona netted twice for the hosts.

That still gives Mosimane an impressive 92.3% win rate when his side score the opening goal.

Bafana have also won all six competitive matches in which they have scored first under Mosimane, against Eswatini and Zambia in 2006, Niger in 2010, Egypt in 2011, and Guinea and Eritrea in 2026.

But there is a flip side to the coin. Mosimane has never managed to turn a deficit into victory after his side have conceded the opening goal.

That has happened on five occasions, with Bafana recovering to draw twice and losing the other three matches.

In friendly internationals, they lost to Egypt in 2006 and the United States in 2010, while drawing with Côte d'Ivoire in 2011.

They have conceded first in two competitive matches, losing 2-1 to Niger in 2011 and recovering to draw 1-1 with Ethiopia in 2012.

There have also been eight goalless draws under Mosimane, meaning that in the 18 matches in which either side scored, the team that netted first went on to win 15 times.

It underlines the importance of the opening goal in matches involving Mosimane's Bafana, with his teams particularly adept at seeing out victories once they have taken the lead.

But their inability to recover from falling behind is a record he will be eager to improve as South Africa continue their qualification campaign.