Orlando Pirates’ Sesane working hard to impress Bafana coach Broos

Orlando Pirates defender Thabiso Sesane is doing all he can to impress coach Hugo Broos in the Bafana Bafana camp after receiving a first national call-up.

Sesane is part of the 23-man squad Broos has assembled ahead of their crucial 2025 Afcon Group K qualifier against Congo at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Friday (7pm).

The return match is in Brazzaville on Tuesday.

Bafana go into the clash level on four points at the top of the group with Uganda after two matches. Six, or even four points, could seal qualification for next year's Nations Cup in Morocco. 

Broos has said he would ideally like to snatch a full house of points.

The 24-year-old centreback Sesane will be hoping to play a part in those plans.

He was on loan at Cape Town All Stars last season but has been one of the key players in coach Jose Riveiro’s defence since his return to the Buccaneers.

Sesane has made 11 appearances for the Soweto giants in domestic and international cup and Betway Premiership fixtures.

He impressed in the MTN8 final, where Pirates beat Stellenbosch 3-1 at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, to the extent he was awarded man-of-the-match.

Sesane was been included as a replacement for Romania-based centre-back Siyabonga Ngezana and said his selection was not by fluke.

“I am here because of my hard work, but it has always been my dream to play for the national team,” Sesane said.

“So, what I can do now is to continue working hard because it’s not easy to be selected to play for Bafana Bafana.

“I have worked hard to be here and I think what also helped is listening to the coach’s instructions.”

Teammate Sipho Chaine, who stood in for injured team captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams against in last month's 3-2 win away against South Sudan, said the players are keen to put in a match-winning performance for the Gqeberha crowd on Friday.

He said the players are aware of the importance of the game.

“The mood in the camp has been very good and the most important thing to us is to represent our country,” Chaine said.

“As professional players, pressure is part of our job. These are very good moments for us to showcase the talent that we have and come together to represent our country.

“I think we have shown how much we can stick together as a team and get very good results in games that no-one expected us to win.”

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