Johannesburg – Bafana Bafana assistant coach Helman Mkhalele who will be in charge of the Cosafa Cup tournament has named a 20-man squad for the upcoming regional competition in Gqeberha in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro from July 7 to 18.
South Africa has been drawn in the Group A together with Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho, the Mountain Kingdom side coached by former SA Under-20 coach Thabo Senong.
Mkhalele, who will be assisted by Under17 coach Vela Khumalo, has also named four players on standby in case of withdrawals from the current squad.
The former Bafana flying winger who started his senior men’s national team coaching career with a bang against Uganda’s Cranes will be aiming to take this new-look Bafana side further in the tournament.
Bafana beat the East Africans 3-2 in a friendly international two weeks ago with a squad comprising mostly youngsters and Mkhalele has retained some of those who did duty against Uganda.
These include Kaizer Chiefs rising goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma, Swallows’ Njabulo Ngcobo, Ethan Brooks of TS Galaxy and Maritzburg United’s Bongokuhle Hlongwane.
Bafana go into camp this week before traveling to Eastern Cape for final preparations for the tournament.
Bafana Bafana Squad
Goalkeepers:
Bruce Bvuma (Kaizer Chiefs);
Sifiso Mlungwana (Golden Arrows)
Defenders:
Rushine De Reuck (Mamelodi Sundowns);
Denwin Farmer (Baroka);
Siyabonga Ngezana (Kaizer Chiefs);
Njabulo Ngcobo (Moroka Swallows);
Keenan Phillips (Supersport United);
Mashweu Mphahlele (Baroka);
Sifiso Ngobeni (Bloemfontein Celtic);
Bongani Sam (Orlando Pirates)
Midfielders:
Sphelele Mkhulise (Mamelodi Sundowns);
Ethan Brooks (TS Galaxy);
Siyethemba Sithebe (AmaZulu);
Kgaogelo Sekgota (Moroka Swallows);
Tiklas Thutlwa (Black Leopards);
Happy Mashiane (Kaizer Chiefs);
Vincent Pule (Orlando Pirates)
Strikers:
Tshegofatso Mabasa (Orlando Pirates);
Goodman Mosele (Baroka)
and Bongokuhle Hlongwane (Maritzburg United).
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