Broos to ease three replacements into Bafana squad

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is happy with the three players he has called up to reinforce his squad ahead of the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho in Polokwane on Friday and Benin in Ivory Coast on Tuesday.

Injuries and personal matters forced the Bafana coach to replace Orlando Pirates playmaker Patrick Maswanganyi, Kaizer Chiefs centre back Rushwin Dortley and left-back Aubrey Modiba of Mamelodi Sundowns.

In their places Broos called in Stellenbosch FC centreback Thabo Moloisane, Polokwane City midfielder Ndamulelo Maphangule and 21-year-old defender Vuyo Letlapa of Sekhukhune United.

While Dortley and Maswanganyi withdrew because of injuries, Modiba has been given extended time to be with his family and wife who gave birth early in the week. 

While happy to have new faces, Broos insisted he does not expect any of these players to start in either match. The coach will use this camp for the three replacements to familiarise themselves with the squad as he will probably call them up again for friendlies in June.

Initially Broos had chosen Khulumani Ndamane as Dortley's replacement but after finding the 21-year-old from TS Galaxy had no passport the coach selected Moloisane.

“I think there are enough centrebacks [in SA]. I’m not really afraid of not finding centrebacks, but the only thing is, and I said it on Thursday when I announced the team, we need to find younger players because little by little our team is becoming old,” Broos said of the replacements.

“When you see the defenders, they’re older players — we only have players of 29 and 30. That means little by little we have to start having younger players in our team.

“Ndamale was also a young central defender but when you don’t have a passport, I can’t call you up.

The Bafana coach was, however, content with having Moloisane and Maphangule in Polokwane, saying their form in the Premier Soccer League convinced him to draft them in the squad. 

“The only problem is I won’t have the opportunity to put them in the team immediately because imagine if they don’t play well and you lose the game. So that they’re already with us is good for them and I’ve watched them at training.

“I see how they behave in the group, but why you choose someone is because of his performance and that’s why they’re in. He [Moloisane] is a good defender and he [Maphangule] is a good midfielder — you see it in their games.

“The only thing we have to see now is check if they’re good enough for the national team. We can see already during training, and they’ll get a chance to play because there are friendly games in June. That will be a very good moment for me to judge them.”

Moloisane feels the experience he gained playing for Stellies in the Caf Confederation Cup for the first time this season will help him. 

“It’s very important going to the national team having had an experience on the continent. You kind of have a bit of what is required at this level and have a proper judgment of what is expected from you,” the 26-year-old defender said.

“There’s a lot of challenges playing on the continent and it gave me a chance to be properly prepared for the international stage.

“I think [also] with the Cosafa Cup you get what it takes to be in the Bafana team. I was with coach Helman Mkhalele and coach Thabo Senong; they made sure we understand what it means to be continuously in the team.”

Broos is targeting six points in the two matches to put Bafana in a strong position to qualify before the last four matches later in 2025 against Lesotho (away), Nigeria (home), Zimbabwe (away) and Rwanda (home).

After four rounds, SA, Rwanda and Benin lead group C with seven points.