Hugo Broos was bold in his belief this week that there was nothing to worry about as Bafana Bafana enter the final stretch of their qualification for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
Two things could have stirred the Bafana coach. First, the pending Teboho Mokoena matter; and second, the fact that close to 10 of his regular starters will be missing when Bafana tackle Lesotho and Nigeria in the Free State in the coming week.
But so confident was Broos of Bafana’s chances of qualification that he pronounced they could book their place in the 48-team showpiece with two matches to spare, — provided they gain six points in the two qualifiers. “Why should we be worried now?” the 73-year-old Belgian asked after naming his squad on Thursday.
Bafana top their group on 13 points followed by Benin and Rwanda on eight, Nigeria on seven, Lesotho on six and Zimbabwe on four.
There’s no better time to give these young players much needed experience than now.
— Hugo Broos, Bafana coach
The only concern for Broos was the state of the pitch at Free State Stadium as well as the training facilities in the area, which will force the team to leave Johannesburg on Thursday, a day before Lesotho “host” them on Friday.
The match against Nigeria will be played on September 9.
Meanwhile, Bafana may lose the three points gained in their 2-0 victory over Lesotho in Polokwane in March as they played Mokoena although the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder had accumulated two yellow cards in previous qualifiers, which meant he should have been suspended for that tie.
Of all the five teams Bafana face in their group, Nigeria have been vocal in calling for Fifa to strip South Africa of those points. But Broos insisted the case had nothing to do with Nigeria, though he understood their intentions and felt South Africa would probably be doing the same thing if they were in that situation.
“No one protested at the time of the incident [within 24 hours of the end of the match] and, if that’s the case, no one gets punished,” was Broos’s take on the matter.
Fifa’s rule 19.2 on fielding an ineligible player states: “If a player fielded in a match is declared ineligible following a protest, the team to which the player belongs will be sanctioned by forfeiting the match and paying a minimum fine of CHF 6,000 [ about R130,000]. The player may also be sanctioned.”
But with Fifa having taken more than five months without pronouncing on the matter, Broos may be right in believing there would be no punishment for Bafana, as no one, including Lesotho, protested within the stipulated time.
Broos insisted his main focus was on the remaining four matches, starting with the two against Lesotho and Nigeria. Not even missing nine regulars — Khuliso Mudau, Themba Zwane, Jayden Adams, Thapelo Morena, Percy Tau, Fawaaz Basadien, Elias Mokwana, Grant Kekana and Nkosinathi Sibisi — could shake Broos’s confidence.
In response, Broos has drafted new, young and exciting players that include Mbekezeli Mbokazi (19), Kamogelo Sebelebele (23), Ime Okon (21), Mduduzi Shabalala (21), Mohau Nkota (20), Khulumani Ndamane (21) and Samukelo Kabini (21) into his squad as he starts to build for the future. “I’ve always said this team is aging,” said Broos.
“Remember, we have an Afcon [Africa Cup of Nations] to play in Morocco at the end of this year and the World Cup next year, certainly if we qualify. There’s no better time to give these young players much needed experience than now.
“Yes, we would have liked to have had all those experienced players like Zwane, Kekana and others in matches against Lesotho and Nigeria, but this is also a good opportunity to see how these young players adapt to international football. It doesn’t get any better than this and we have to be positive about it.”
With Mokoena, skipper Ronwen Williams, Siyabonga Ngezana, Oswin Appollis, Iqraam Rayners and Lyle Foster available, the spine of Broos’s team remains.
It is in defence, however, that it will be most interesting to see who Broos plays. Does he start with a completely new central pairing of Mbokazi and Okon, for an example, or leave Ngezana to play with one of the new defenders that include Kabini and Ndamane?
The absence of Mudau at right-back concerns Broos most. In Zuko Mdunyelwa and Nyiko Mobbie, the Bafana coach has players who may fill that position, while Aubrey Modiba looks assured to start at left-back.
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