The wait for the final Bafana Bafana 2026 Fifa World Cup squad is almost over, as coach Hugo Broos will be unveiling his final squad on Wednesday at the Union Buildings in Tshwane – just two days before their warm-up game against Central American side Nicaragua at the Orlando Stadium.
A team that will not only represent the country but also the African continent. It’s exactly 18 days to go until the global showpiece gets underway, where it will be played across the countries in the Americas – Mexico, Canada and the USA.
Bafana will play the opening game against Mexico on June 11, a match which will bring the nostalgia of the 2010 opening match in Soccer City, where Siphiwe Tshabalala scored that iconic first goal.
Now, with hard-to-convince Broos, already confirming that 70% of his squad was already made up during Bafana’s last camp in March against Panama, the likes of Teboho Mokoena, Aubrey Modiba, Ronwen Williams, Relebohile Mofokeng, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, and Oswin Appollis, have somewhat
certainly booked their seats on the flight to Mexico in the
coming weeks.
We will take a look at some of the players who are most likely to be dropped, and those who raised their hands to be considered by the Belgian grey head.
Sipho Chaine (Orlando Pirates)
Having been surprisingly dropped by Broos from the previous camp due to allegations relating to attitude problems, Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine has undoubtedly given the Bafana coach and technical team a reason to return to the set-up.
Chain managed to set an all-time Premier Soccer League (PSL) record by keeping 20 clean sheets in 29 matches. He overtook Bafana’s first-choice goalie Ronwen Williams’ record of 19 clean sheets in a single season.
Siyabonga Ngezana (FCSB)
Despite dismissing recent reports of being already omitted from the Fifa World Cup squad a week before the announcement, Siyabonga Ngezana is one of the players whose place is uncertain, given his recent injury and form in Romania.
Sipho Mbule (Orlando Pirates)
After the disappointing performance at the previous Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco, Broos made it clear that he would be doing some serious introspection ahead of the World Cup.
His statement suggested that there would be some players who were a part of that group who would not make it to his World Cup squad, and Sipho Mbule seems likely to be amongst that list.
Before yesterday’s final league game, the Pirates midfield maestro had fallen out of favour in coach Abdeslam Ouaddou’s team and lacked game time due to reasons rumoured to be off-the-pitch related.
Brandon Petersen (Kaizer Chiefs)
Arguably the best goalkeeper in the second half of the season, Brandon Petersen is one of the players who have done everything to convince Broos and his technical team that he is worthy of a place in the Bafana World Cup squad.
Petersen has almost single-handedly carried Amakhosi through the second half of the season, helping them secure the number three spot and qualify for the CAF Confederations Cup next season.
Before yesterday’s final league game against Chippa United, the 31-year-old had kept 15 clean sheets – one behind Itumeleng Khune’s club record from 2017/18.
Mohau Nkota (Al-Ettifaq)
The story of Mohau Nkota is probably one of the saddest ones, given that there was so much excitement surrounding the youngster after he departed from Pirates to Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia at the start of the season.
However, the youngster has since been struggling to get regular minutes and was at some point converted to the wing-back position.
With Broos making it clear in previous months that players who don’t get minutes at their clubs will be dropped from his team, that seems likely to be the fate of the former Bucs youngster.
- Bafana Bafana's final 2026 FIFA World Cup squad will be announced soon.
- Coach Hugo Broos is set to reveal the squad on Wednesday at the Union Buildings in Tshwane.
- The announcement comes just two days before their warm-up match against Nicaragua.
- The friendly match will take place at Orlando Stadium.
- Full details are available in the Sunday World e-edition.
A team that will not only represent the country but also the African continent. It’s exactly 18 days to go until the global showpiece gets underway, where it will be played across the countries in the Americas – Mexico, Canada and the USA.
Bafana will play the opening game against Mexico on June 11, a match which will bring the nostalgia of the 2010 opening match in Soccer City, where Siphiwe
Now, with hard-to-convince Broos, already confirming that 70% of his squad was already made up during Bafana’s last camp in March against Panama, the likes of Teboho Mokoena, Aubrey Modiba, Ronwen Williams, Relebohile
certainly booked their seats on the flight to Mexico in the
coming weeks.
We will take a look at some of the players who are most likely to be dropped, and those who raised their hands to be considered by the Belgian grey head.
Sipho Chaine (
Chain managed to set an all-time Premier Soccer League (PSL) record by keeping 20 clean sheets in 29 matches. He overtook Bafana’s first-choice goalie Ronwen Williams’ record of 19 clean sheets in a single season.
Despite dismissing recent reports of being already omitted from the Fifa World Cup squad a week before the announcement,
Sipho
After the disappointing performance at the previous Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco, Broos made it clear that he would be doing some serious introspection ahead of the World Cup.
His statement suggested that there would be some players who were a part of that group who would not make it to his World Cup squad, and Sipho
Before yesterday’s final league game, the Pirates midfield maestro had fallen out of favour in coach Abdeslam Ouaddou’s team and lacked game time due to reasons rumoured to be off-the-pitch related.
Arguably the best goalkeeper in the second half of the season,
Petersen has almost single-handedly carried
Before yesterday’s final league game against Chippa United, the 31-year-old had kept 15 clean sheets – one behind
Mohau
However, the youngster has since been struggling to get regular minutes and was at some point converted to the wing-back position.
