Bafana coach Hugo Broos keeps his promise, selects new and younger players

19 August 2021 - 15:31 By sazi hadebe
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Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says there's a lot of work ahead.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says there's a lot of work ahead.
Image: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos kept his promise to introduce new and younger players when he on Thursday named a 31-man squad to play in two crunch 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

The team to face Zimbabwe and Ghana next month was not short of surprises as the 69-year-old Belgian, who will trim his squad to 23 players before the camp starts, announced his first Bafana team since taking over from Molefi Ntseki in May. Bafana will play Zimbabwe in Harare on September 3 and host Ghana in Johannesburg on September 6.

Ethiopia completes Bafana’s group.

It was during his unveiling two months ago when Broos made it clear that Bafana needed to be rebuilt after the team failed to qualify for next year's 2022 Africa Cup of Nations under Ntseki.

Broos’s changes can be traced right from the four goalkeepers he selected in which he included Lamontville Golden Arrows gloveman Sifiso Mlungwana, 24, and Kaizer Chiefs’ Bruce Bvuma, 26.

Interestingly, in defence the Bafana coach decided to include three new Chiefs players in Thabani Dube, 28, Njabulo Ngcobo, 27, and Sibusiso Mabiliso, 22, who are yet to start a match at Chiefs.

Players who showed promise in the SA Under-23 that crashed out in the first round of the Tokyo Olympic Games were also rewarded with call-ups.

They include Kobamelo Kodisang, Teboho Mokoena in midfield and strikers Evidence Makgopa and Luther Singh, who recently joined Danish giants FC Copenhagen.

“As I said two months ago, we have huge work to do,” said Broos.

“We have to rebuild the team with young players for the World Cup next year. And because we’re rebuilding we’re making a new young team.

“But I said in the first press conference in May,  don’t be too disappointed if we don’t qualify for Qatar 2022. Don’t criticise the players and the coaches too much because the most important target has to be the next Afcon. We’ll go to the World Cup if we have a chance.

“And let us dream, let’s dream. We have a big chance to be first in the group if we do well in the two coming matches. This has to be our ambition and it’s my ambition too. But I will not be disappointed if we don’t succeed.”

Broos said he was impressed with what he saw when Bafana lifted the Cosafa Cup in June and players who caught the national team coach’s eye included AmaZulu goalkeeper Velile Mothwa, 30, Sphelele Mkhulise, 25, Yusuf Maart, 26, Ethan Brooks, 19, Bongokuhle Hlongwane, 21, Victor Letsoalo, 28, and Siyethemba Sithebe, 28, who were included in his squad.

“There are players who surprised me and you’ll see in this team that there are players who were in that Cosafa team,” Broos said. “I was very happy to follow it and to see those games. This was something I asked even when I was in Belgium ... to see those games. I learnt a lot out of it.

“In the Olympics it was the same thing, but there I wasn’t involved with the selection of the team. I was giving a little bit of advice to the coach (David Notoane) but it was his selection.

“Against France (4-3 loss) they had a good game but I can’t understand when you’re two times in the lead how you end up losing the game 4-3. The results were not good but I saw a few players that I like, for example Kodisang.

“He surprised me. For me I didn’t know the player, but he had a good tournament. And as you see I have given him a place in the team.”

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