Broos shuts Bafana door, says he’ll stick to core team

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has given a sense that he has closed the door on new players going forward, saying he and his technical panel have now seen enough. 

For the recent friendlies against Namibia and DR Congo, Broos called-up five players to whom he had never given a look-in before. Those players are Lebo Mothiba, Kobamelo Kodisang, Thabiso Monyane, Grant Margeman and Mlungisi Mbunjana. Since his appointment as Bafana coach in May 2021, Broos has utilised a whopping 76 players.

“Now we’ll go more and more to the core of players who will be playing the [World Cup] qualifiers and maybe also the Afcon, so that we can really prepare the team now,” Broos said after beating Congo 1-0 at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday.

“There’ll be not so many changes anymore... we’ve changed enough, we saw enough and now it’s up to us to compose the core of players who’ll go to the important games of November and Afcon in January.”

Even so, the Bafana trainer didn’t want to name the players he feels didn’t win his heart in the camp for the two friendlies against Namibia and Congo. Bafana drew goalless against Namibia at the same Soweto venue on Saturday.

“I don’t think it’s the right place and moment to tell that [whether certain players disappointed him]. This is something I have to discuss and analyse with my technical staff. Tomorrow [yesterday] or Thursday before I go to Belgium we’ll have a little meeting and see... and then when I come back, we’ll analyse this camp and players,” Broos said.

Bafana’s preparations for the November World Cup qualifiers and next year’s Afcon will continue next month when they face eSwatini and Ivory Coast in friendlies home and away.

Ivory Coast will host the Afcon early next year.

In the World Cup qualifiers, SA are in Group C alongside Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Benin, Lesotho and Rwanda. SA’s first game of this competition is against Benin at home on November 13, before travelling to Rwanda for the second one seven days later.