Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has provided an update on his squad ahead of the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, confirming he has called up Orlando Pirates striker Evidence Makgopa.
Bafana face Benin in the first game at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday, 18 November 2023, before they will travel to Huye to face Rwanda on Tuesday, 21 November 2023.
Broos’ men have been in good form and are currently unbeaten in 11 consecutive games, winning six and drawing five, with the run stretching back to June 2022 when they lost an Afcon qualifier away to Morocco.
After Broos named his final 23-man squad last week, he has now confirmed that Makgopa has replaced the injured Lebo Mothiba.
“Mothiba is not there and he’s replaced by Makgopa,” he confirmed on Monday.
“Evidence, he was already with us but it was a long time ago. I’m very happy that he plays a lot now in Pirates. He’s a similar type to Mothiba, so I’m very happy to see him back with us.
“He always has a good mentality. It was a bit of a pity he didn’t play much for Pirates after his injury but we followed him and I was very happy that the last four, five games he played always.”
Broos also admitted that he is currently sweating on the fitness of Sundowns duo Grant Kekana and Thapelo Maseko.
“We have two problems, we’re waiting for the medical report from Kekana and Maseko,” he added.
“I’m a little bit anxious, I’m afraid that I’ll have to replace them. Once we have the medical report and we know exactly what we can expect from those two players, we’ll make a decision whether they’ll stay with us or whether we have to look for other players – don’t ask me who, I haven’t thought about it till now.
“I hope they can stay with us but I’m a little bit afraid.”
