Former Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly attacking midfielder Percy Tau and Burnley FC striker Lyle Foster are back in the Bafana Bafana set-up after a short hiatus. The duo was named in coach Hugo Broos’ preliminary squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin later this month.
Tau last appeared for Bafana in June in the 1-1 draw against Nigeria and had been struggling to make an impact in Broos’ team. He was caught up on his transfer rumours and was not sure whether he was still part of Al Ahly going forward. He has since left the Egyptian giants and transferred to Qatar SC in a sugar-coated deal.
In October, Foster was withdrawn from the Bafana team that played against Congo in the 2025 Afcon qualifier in Brazzaville. He was injured during the first meeting between the two sides at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, a few days before.
With Bafana now going for the important World Cup qualifiers, Broos named a very strong squad. Broos’ charges host Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on March 21 (kick off is at 6:00pm) and then travel to Ivory Coast to face Benin four days later. The Beninese will host the South African men’s senior national team in Ivory Coast after their home grounds were deemed unsuitable for international matches.
The final SA squad will report for camp in Johannesburg on March 17 and then travel to Polokwane on the same day. After the Lesotho match, Broos and his charges will travel to Abidjan the next day on a charter flight. They return to South Africa on March 26.
The preliminary squad will be trimmed to 23 players in the coming days when Broos announces his final list for the two matches.
Safa president Danny Jordaan and CEO Lydia Monyepao urged fans to continue to buy their tickets and ensure that the stadium is full when Bafana resume their World Cup campaign.
Tickets are on sale at TicketPro and they cost R70.00 for adults and R40.00 for children under the age of 12. The game will be broadcast live on SABC.
