Why Broos is drafting new blood into Bafana

Bafana Bafana will have a few new faces when they face Guinea and France later in March, coach Hugo Broos has revealed.

SA will play friendlies against Guinea and France on March 25 and 29. Both fixtures will be in France.     

Broos, who joined Bafana in May last year, has already built a strong and reliable side full of players who are still in their early 20s.    

The new Bafana earned a lot of plaudits for their decent run in the Fifa World Cup qualifiers, where it took conceding a dubious penalty against Ghana for them to miss out on qualifying for the play-offs late in 2021. Even so, Broos feels there’s a need to blood a few new players to bolster the squad.

“I have always said that the World Cup qualifiers campaign was the beginning. It was very difficult for me to select players because I didn’t know them, but they did very well. However, there must be new faces because we’re not strong enough,” Broos said.

“If we were strong enough, we would have qualified for the play-offs. There are some weaknesses in the current group, therefore we have to look for other players. We are looking at the players in the league games and in the Caf competitions.’’

The Belgian wasn’t keen to name the players he’s going to call up for the first time. However, given their blistering form in recent months, players such as Orlando Pirates utility fullback Bandile Shandu, Stellenbosch striker Ashley du Preez and Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Nkosingiphile Ngcobo deserve a nod. Golden Arrows goalkeeper Nkosingiphile Gumede has also done well this term.

Shandu, 27, is proving to be the most efficient right-back in the country with six goals in as many games across all competitions this season. The 24-year-old Du Preez has five goals and three assists to his name this season. 

Ngcobo, 22, may be struggling to command a regular berth at Chiefs but he has shown flashes of brilliance this season. In eight league appearances, Ngcobo managed two goals and an assist.

If Ngcobo gets a call-up, he won’t be the first player to be called up under Broos while struggling to start games at club level. His Chiefs teammate Njabulo Ngcobo has been in the same position before.

Goalkeeper Gumede, 28, boasts five clean sheets from 11 league games, conceding eight times this season.