Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has revealed that he is close to finalising his squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
With the tournament set to take place in the USA, Mexico, and Canada between June and July, South Africa is stepping up their preparations.
The team faces Panama in their second friendly on Tuesday at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, following a 1-1 draw in Durban last Friday.
Broos stated that around 70% to 75% of his squad is already decided, although he cautioned that changes could still occur if players lose form at club level or suffer injuries in the coming months.
“Well, I think first of all that, let’s say 70% of the selection is already in my head and will be also there in May,” said Broos.
“Everything depends also a little bit on the shape of the players. Maybe in the next weeks they will not play anymore in the team or injuries or that kind of things.
“But for 70-75% of the team, of the selection, of the 23 or maybe 25, that is something I have to decide. I think 70% is already in my head and will not change, not even if tomorrow we play a bad game.
“But there are still some positions that I want to see in the next weeks before I make my choice. On the other side, again, we did a very good game on Friday and let’s hope that we can confirm that tomorrow again. But there is still some work to do because we are going to the World Cup and this is something different.
“We still have to work on some details to become better, but therefore that will be the preparation just before the World Cup in the 10-12 days we will have together. We will try to put the details good and be more ready than we are now because now it should be a little bit too soon, I think, if in a week or in 10 days we have to play the World Cup.”
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