It was a difficult outing for Hugo Broos' charges at the Pierre-Mauroy Stadium in Lille on Tuesday where Bafana Bafana suffered a comprehensive 5-0 defeat at the hands of the reigning world champion.
Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Teboho Mokoena, who has been a star for club and country in recent times, was among those who struggled on the night and the 25-year-old was hooked at half-time in favour of Orlando Pirates' Goodman Mosele.
Mokoena had previously gone down with an apparent knock to his knee but Broos later revealed that his substitution, which came at a time when France led 2-0, was a tactical decision rather than one that was enforced by an injury.
"I think Teboho had a little bit of a problem with the French opponents and he was also not good when he had the ball," the Belgian tactician said during his post-match press conference.
"He lost a few balls in moments that he didn't have to lose it. Therefore he was changed during the half-time break with Mosele.
"I thought to have a player with a little bit more power and we needed that because if you see the players in the French team, they are all-powerful, certainly in midfield.
"Then they changed it, and they have a player like [Paul] Pogba who is coming in, so we needed a little bit more power and that's the reason why Teboho was changed at half-time."
The decision ultimately failed to pay off as France ran in three more goals during the second half, with Kylian Mbappe, who also scored Les Bleus' opener, Wissam Ben Yedder and Matteo Guendouzi adding their names to Olivier Giroud's on the scoresheet.
Mokoena has made 17 international appearances for South Africa since making his debut in 2017 and was the country's leading goalscorer with two goals during the failed 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.