Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has announced a preliminary 37-player squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin later this month. The squad includes six new faces, with 17 players selected from Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.
Bafana will host Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo, on March 21, 2025, at 18:00, before traveling to Côte d’Ivoire to face Benin on March 25. Due to unsuitable conditions at Benin’s home grounds, the match will be held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Broos has named six new players in the squad: Samukelo Kabini and Khulekani Ndamane (TS Galaxy), Ndamulelo Maphangule (Polokwane City), Deano Van Rooyen (Orlando Pirates), Siphesihle Mkhize (Sekhukhune United), and Ashley Cupido and Thabo Moloisane (Stellenbosch).
The team will gather in Johannesburg on March 17 for camp, before traveling to Polokwane for the Lesotho match. Afterward, they will fly to Abidjan the following day for the encounter with Benin, returning to South Africa on March 26.
