The South African football team's international fortunes were mixed over the weekend. Young Africans SC of Tanzania fired coach Manqoba Mngqithi, while Relebohile Mofokeng shone in Belgium.

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise had Mofokeng, a former Orlando Pirates player, among their best performers once again. In Sunday's Belgian Pro League match, the team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Cercle Brugge 5-2. In addition to scoring in the 80th minute, Mofokeng assisted on the game's fifth goal in the dying minutes. In 14 games played across all competitions this season, he has put up five goals and three assists. The victory also kept Union in close proximity to the league's top spot.

A South African team also met in the US Major League Soccer. Lyle Foster of Houston Dynamo and Bongokuhle Hlongwane of Minnesota United met in a goalless draw. Hlongwane started and finished the game, while Foster came off the bench during halftime.

For Mngqithi, the news was less than ideal. After their 0-0 draw with TRA United, Young Africans benched him; as a result, they fell five points behind league leaders Simba SC. He won the Tanzanian Community Shield and led the team to the CAF Champions League group stage in his brief tenure as coach. There were ten wins, two draws, and one loss in the thirteen matches that the ex-Mamelodi Sundowns coach was supposedly in charge of. The loss in the derby against Simba and the tie against TRA United seem to have been the deciding factors in his dismissal from the team.

But Rulani Mokwena is still having a great season with Pyramids FC of Egypt. After a 5-0 aggregate victory over El Merriekh Bentiu, he guided the club into the CAF Champions League group stage.

Things can change in football very fast, as was demonstrated over the weekend. Mofokeng and Mokwena are boosting South Africa's reputation in Egypt and Europe, but Mngqithi's dismissal shows that winning does not guaranty a coach's job security.

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