The match will be a first in charge for returning coach Pitso Mosimane and, with some degree of irony, will be staged at the scene of the final game of his second spell with the team, a 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw against Ethiopia in 2012 that ultimately cost him his job.

The match will kick off at 18h00 as Bafana look to get their Group D campaign off to a positive start. It will be followed four days later by a clash with Eritrea in neutral Cairo, where the team will stay on to play Egypt in a friendly international on October 4.

Co-hosts Kenya are the fourth team in the pool, but as they qualify automatically, there is only one place available to the other three.

Guinea will present the most dangerous challenge for Bafana, which is why it is crucial to get off to a positive start at home.

Bafana’s last game at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace was a 2-1 loss to Zambia in a friendly in 2020.

They do, in fact, have a dismal record there since a 2-0 friendly win over Kenya in 2011, when Mosimane was last in charge.

They have played five games there since, recording three draws and two defeats. They were held by Ethiopia, Malawi and Namibia, and lost to Tanzania and Zambia.

Mosimane had two previous spells in charge of Bafana, as interim coach for seven matches between 2006 and 2007 ahead of the arrival of Carlos Alberto Parreira, and for a further 16 games following the 2010 World Cup when he took over from the Brazilian on a permanent basis.