Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has called up Thabiso Monyane to replace the injured Nyiko Mobbie, who was forced to exit the pitch barely five minutes into the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier against Lesotho at the Free State Stadium on Friday night.
Monyane will join the camp in Bloemfontein this weekend as the South African senior men’s national team now turns its attention to the second World Cup qualifier against Nigeria at the same venue on Tuesday night. The Tembisa-born defender, who joined Kaizer Chiefs from arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the off-season, has had a blistering start to the 2025/26 season in the colours of Amakhosi. He has made the right-back position his own with his overlapping runs and well-timed tackles.
Two injuries in squad
Bafana Bafana team doctor Tshepo Molobi confirmed that Mobbie was rushed to hospital on Friday night and had to undergo an operation this morning.
“The injury happened as a result of a clash of heads in the first half and he sustained a fracture of the eye socket in three places,” Dr Molobi said. He said a further update will be communicated after Mobbie’s operation.
He also said Thabo Moloisane, who exited the match in the 52nd minute due to injury, is doing well and should be back at training on Saturday afternoon.
SA sitting pretty
Bafana beat Lesotho 3-0 at the Free State Stadium to maintain their lead at the top of their 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying group on Friday night. Broos’ charges maintain their five-point lead in Group C after Benin beat Zimbabwe 1-0 on the same day to move to second place with 11 points.
SA is sitting pretty at the summit with 16 points after seven rounds of matches. They can book their ticket to next year’s World Cup if they beat the “Super Eagles” of Nigeria on Tuesday. After Nigeria, they will be left with Zimbabwe and Rwanda in their roster.
