Bafana Bafana will want to end their two-match international friendly series against Panama on a high when the two Fifa World Cup-bound countries meet at the Cape Town Stadium tonight. The match starts at 7.30pm.
Bafana and the Central American side played to an entertaining 1-1 draw at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday night, and there was a lot that coach Hugo Broos could draw from that encounter.
Tickets for the match were sold out in the early days, and so razzmatazz and a cauldron are expected from the Mother City supporters.
Broos has been calling on South African fans to come in numbers and drown Panama in a cacophony of noise and vuvuzelas.
The fans are coming to the party, and they will be expecting their heroes to return the favour.
Broos will get a chance to assess some of his fringe players and those who are launching a fightback to make the final squad for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada in June.
Broos is likely to make changes and provide opportunities to most of the players who did not play on Friday, including Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Thapelo Maseko, and third-choice goalkeeper Renaldo Leaner.
Centre-back combination
The returning Major League Soccer-based Bongokuhle Hlongwane will also get a chance to show if he is capable of carrying the hopes of Mzansi on his shoulders.
During Broos’ initial tenure as Bafana coach, Hlongwane was a standout player, but he has since significantly fallen in the rankings.
Hlongwane will fight for the number nine striker’s position with Orlando Pirates’ goal-scoring machine, Evidence Makgopa, who has become a crowd favourite with his exploits with the Buccaneers.
Broos will be forced to adjust after Lyle Foster had a poor outing in Durban, where he missed a litany of scoring chances.
Broos said that what he saw in Foster was that he was lazy and not putting in the effort to play.
The Bafana technical team will also be tempted to try out the centre-back combination of Mbokazi and Ime Okon, who is plying his trade in Germany.
Bafana will get a final Fifa window period to finalise their team in May, with only a month before the World Cup kicks off.
