Mbekezeli Mbokazi: Bafana Bafana must not dwell on defeat to Egypt

South Africa went down 1-0 to the North African giants in a tightly contested encounter decided by a contentious first-half penalty, converted by Mohamed Salah just before the interval.

The spot-kick was awarded after Khuliso Mudau's arm was adjudged to have been in an unnatural position inside the penalty area, a decision that sparked debate among players and coaching staff.

Despite the disappointment, Mbokazi, only 20 years old, delivered another outstanding performance in the heart of the defence.

The match marked the first defeat of his senior international career, yet the young centre-back showed maturity beyond his years in reflecting on the outcome.

"Yeah we also hoped that it was a penalty but we don't know how the referee's decided not to give it [penalty], nonetheless we will have to accept their decision and move on to the next match and make sure that we win it," said Mbokazi.

"We have to move on from the referee's decision, what happened has happened, we can't cry over spilled milk, we just have to fight in our next game and get a positive result."

The match took another dramatic turn shortly before half-time when Egypt's Mohamed Hany was shown a red card, reducing the Pharaohs to ten men.

Bafana Bafana pushed hard in the second half, but Egypt defended resolutely and managed to hold on for victory despite their numerical disadvantage.

Late controversy followed when South Africa were denied a potential penalty of their own, a decision that left head coach Hugo Broos visibly unhappy on the touchline.