Tag: Bafana Bafana

Bafana Bafana will be without one defender for the Nigeria match on Tuesday due to injury, Hugo Broos confirmed.

Bafana Bafana head coach has confirmed that Nyiko Mobbie will miss the FIFA World Cup qualifier against Nigeria on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old right-back was subbed off in the early stages of the match against Lesotho following an injury and was replaced with Mamelodi Sundowns defender Zuko Mdenyelwa.

Bafana won the match 3-0 at the Free State Stadium on Friday but were forced to make two changes due to injury.

 “It’s a pity that we have those injuries. [Thabo] Moloisane is not so bad, but Mobbie is out,” Broos told the media.

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“So we’ll have to call someone else, and we will decide in the next hour who that will be. That’s the only negative point of this game. But again, that can happen in any game. But I saw a very motivated and aggressive team from Lesotho.”

Bafana now sit with 16 points in Group C and just need a win against Nigeria to ultimately qualify for the 2026 World Cup. It remains to be seen if Moloisane will play on Tuesday; however, Mobbie has been ruled out of the anticipated clash.

“That’s also why we have those injuries. However, our CEO [Lydia Monyepao] will make a call for the game on Tuesday. You know that we have a list of players, and the one who will come on Monday will come tomorrow [Saturday] will be someone whom we have confidence in,” Broos said.

Bafana play Nigeria on Tuesday, knowing a win could possibly see them qualify for the global showpiece with games to spare.

• Belgian coach named Ime Okon in final 23 for WC qualifiers

Bafana Bafana’s  head coach Hugo Broos has unveiled his final 23-man squad for South Africa’s decisive 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Lesotho and Nigeria, warning his players not to underestimate the challenges ahead.

Both fixtures will be played at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, with South Africa facing Lesotho on 5 September before locking horns with long-time rivals Nigeria on 9 September in what is expected to be one of the most high-profile encounters of the qualifiers.

Broos was quick to remind his team that Lesotho, despite their underdog status, recently stunned Nigeria by holding them to a draw away from home.

 “The biggest mistake the South African players can make is underestimating Lesotho,” the Belgian tactician said. “We beat them before, so we must beat them again.”

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Turning his attention to Nigeria, Broos admitted that the Super Eagles remain the toughest hurdle despite their stuttering campaign.

 “We knew from the start that the team we had to beat is Nigeria,” he stated. “Even though they started badly, they can still qualify.”

South Africa currently top Group C with 13 points from six matches, five clear of second-placed Rwanda and comfortably ahead of Benin in third.

Nigeria, meanwhile, sit a distant fourth with just seven points but remain hopeful of revival—especially as FIFA is expected to rule on a possible three-point deduction against South Africa for fielding an ineligible player earlier in the qualifiers.

Broos will have to navigate the absence of key defenders Nkosinathi Sibisi and Grant Kekana, who are ruled out by injury. Kaizer Chiefs’ young midfielder Mduduzi Shabalala is the only representative from the Soweto giants in the squad.

With qualification now within touching distance, Bafana Bafana know that victory in these back-to-back fixtures would not only strengthen their World Cup hopes but also reignite national pride as the team edges closer to North America 2026.

Bafana Bafana Final Squad:

Ronwen Williams, Sipho Chaine, Ricardo Goss, Sydney Mobbie, Zuko Mdunyelwa, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Aubrey Modiba, Khulumani Ndame, Ime Okon, Samukelo Kabini, Siyabonga Ngezana, Teboho Mokoena, Luke le Roux, Bathusi Aubaas, Thalente Mbatha, Patrick Maswanganyi, Relebohile Mofokeng, Lyle Foster, Kamogelo Sebelebele, Oswin Appollis, Iqraam Rayners, Mohau Nkota, Mduduzi Shabalala.

Certifies Chukwueze, Awaziem fitness

Super Eagles head coach, Finidi George has stated that his team would use a different game pattern than what was used against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’ Ivoire when both teams clash tonight in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier in Uyo.

The Eagles are third with two points behind Rwanda and South Africa and only a win would help resuscitate the team’s World Cup ambition.

George who will be playing his first competitive game as Eagles boss, said the South African proved to be a worthy opponent at AFCON before they lost to Nigeria on penalties and the former Enyimba coach opined that the team would do the needful to get a win.

“AFCON is gone now. We knew how the game went. It was difficult but we won it which is very important. This is a World Cup Qualifier and we are going to play differently from the way we played in AFCON,” Finidi said  at his press conference in Uyo. “This will be a different ball game. I am quite confident in our ability and what we are able to do tomorrow (today). We want to win and to qualify for the next World Cup and we will strive to get that win.

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“We have trained so well and the players are fully prepared for the game. They know the task ahead and they are just waiting for the start of the game.

“We do not have doubt about the capacity of the players. They know it is a must win game and we will approach it that way.

He confirmed  the readiness of  Samuel Chukwueze and  Chigozie Awaziem r who   had a knock and stomach issues in respectively, adding  both players have  recovered and are in good shape for the game.

“All the players are ready.   Samuel Chukwueze had a knock in training on Wednesday but he has been able to train without pains. Chidozie Awaziem had a little stomach upset but he is fine now,” Finidi added.

The Eagles head coach further stated that he would continue to watch the NPFL so as to unearth more quality players for the senior national team.

“We invited three players and I feel that is enough for now. The criterion is we keep watching the league and fish out those that are good enough to join the team. It is a gradual process and we want to encourage the players in the domestic league knowing that their time will come too.

“We will bring in players that are capable of playing for the senior national team that will add value to the team.”

Bafana Bafana midfielder, Grant Kekana is the latest South African player to be ruled out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Nigeria. 

The Hugo Broos led team resumed full training yesterday with the information from the South African camp confirming that Kekana won’t play any part in the game.

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Kekana was one of the key players for Bafana in the 2023 African Cup of Nations in Cote ‘d’Ivoire and his absence will surely be felt in the team.

Broos has called up Given Msimango as his replacement in the team and he joined the camp yesterday.

South Africa is second in the group with three points one above Nigeria’s Super Eagles who have two points.

Victor Ikpeba, former Super Eagles and AS Monaco forward, has cautioned the Nigerian national football team to be vigilant against the threat posed by South Africa.

The Super Eagles will host Bafana Bafana at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on Friday, June 7, in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

The Super Eagles are winless in two games and will look to recover from their poor start to the World Cup qualifiers. Nigeria is currently third in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers, one point below South Africa and two points behind leaders Rwanda.

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This will be the two sides’ second meeting in recent months after their semi-final clash at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024), which was played in Ivory Coast, where Nigeria emerged victorious via a penalty shootout.

“South Africa will be stubborn as we saw at the last AFCON,” he warned. “They have a lot going for them and are no longer intimidated by Nigeria. The Super Eagles have to therefore step up to beat them in Uyo. It won’t be an easy match, but Nigeria have the players to win. This is a game of their lives and Finidi (George) has to get them to win this match. We have to support the team to get the job done.”

Now a member of the technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ikpeba was a member of the Super Eagles team at the FIFA World Cups in 1994, where he played, and in 1998, where he scored the lone goal against Bulgaria in the second game. Ikpeba also played a pivotal role in winning the 1994 African Nations Cup.

South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams should be made his country’s finance minister to ‘save the economy’ after his player of the match performance against Cape Verde, his team-mate Grant Kekana joked.

The Bafana Bafana captain saved four penalties in a remarkable performance that earned him the player of the match award after their quarter-final shootout in Yamoussoukro.

Williams, 32, also denied Gilson Benchimol with an incredible reaction save to push the Blue Sharks forward’s effort on to the bar after he was put through with a chance win the match in injury time at the end of 90 minutes.

“He is a world-class goalkeeper,” South Africa defender Grant Kekana said.”I think he should be made the minister of finance – he can save South Africa’s economy.”

Williams reserved praise for the team’s analysts, who he said have “filled his phone” with clips of penalties taken by Cape Verde.

The stopper, who won the inaugural African Football League with Mamelodi Sundowns last season, said he had a “good idea” where the penalties would be going thanks to the work of the team behind the scenes and his highlight was the save to deny Benchimol rather than the shootout.

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“There weren’t too many clear-cut chances and that was one where that got in behind the defence and there was only a few minutes to go,” Williams said.

“So for me that save stands out more than anything else. I’m just proud I could keep my team in the game because they don’t give me so much work to do.”

Bafana Bafana have not conceded a goal at the tournament since their opening match, when they lost 2-0 to Mali.

Kekana, who plays alongside Williams for Sundowns, was overlooked for that game but has been an ever present since in the heart of the defence to coincide with the series of clean sheets.

“We understand that, if we don’t concede you don’t lose games,” he said. “So we try so hard to work as a team. We start defending from the front to give us the chance of winning the game.”

• Mokoena opens up on South Africa’s chances

Bafana Bafana midfielder Teboho Mokoena is optimistic they can get past the last eight phase in the ongoing Afcon finals.

Bafana defeated Morocco 2-0 courtesy of goals from Evidence Makgopa and Mokoena in the Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16.

South Africa will now play Cape Verde on Saturday, hoping to go all the way and win their second Afcon title in history.

In 1996, Bafana won the competition in their debut, and two years later, they finished second. Since then, they have won the bronze once, reached the quarter-finals four times, and failed to get past the group stage on four occasions.

The last time they played in the tournament, in 2019, South Africa were eliminated in the last eight hurdle.

Mokoena is hopeful that can be bettered but he is adamant the Hugo Broos-led team is taking one game at a time.

“Honestly, the expectation from us is to take it one game at a time, because this tournament, we all can see, nobody can say who’s going to win it,” the Mamelodi Sundowns star told the media.

“So the top five teams in Africa are all out. So it’s up to us or the other teams to take the trophy and in 2019, we reached the quarter-finals. So it’s not a surprise to South Africans, the quarterfinals are not new to us.

“So we must take it a step higher because we need to take the national team to a better place than we found it, so yeah, that’s our aim and goal as a team, so yeah, we will see.”

After his masterclass in the win over the Atlas Lions, Mokoena is expected to play a vital role on Saturday to help Bafana Bafana get past Cape Verde.

It will be interesting to see whether Broos can defy the odds and win the competition with South Africa just like he did with Cameroon in 2017.

Read Also: Bafana Bafana coach sure of beating Nigeria to World Cup ticket

Meanwhile, Morocco star Achraf Hakimi has spoken out for the first time after missing a crucial penalty against South Africa in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Morocco star player Hakimi had his country in tears on Wednesday when he missed a penalty against South Africa as the North Africans were booted out of the Afcon.

Hakimi’s penalty miss came in the 85th minute as he squandered a golden opportunity to put his side level with Bafana Bafana, who were leading 1-0 at the time.

As it is often said, another man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and South Africa ran with that, gained momentum and sealed the tie in stoppage time to cause one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.

“Today is a very difficult and sad day for our elimination. Apologies for the penalty, I took the responsibility of helping the team, but unfortunately, it didn’t work,” Hakimi said in an Instagram post.

“I want to thank all the Moroccan people for their support, especially all the people who came to Ivory Coast. We will rise and come back stronger from now on! God willing.”

“What about you my brother, @amine_ad10. (Amine Adli) After all you’ve been through, you came and gave it all for your country, we are so proud of you! I love you so much brother Morocco is always! (stronger) And good luck to the South African national team for the rest of the competition,” he added.