South Africa national team head coach Hugo Broos has named his preliminary squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Bafana Bafana have been drawn in Group A, where they will open their campaign against hosts Mexico at the iconic Estadio Azteca on 11 June, before facing Czech Republic and South Korea. The final 26-man squad must be confirmed to FIFA by 1 June.
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Rebuilding Bafana from the Ground Up
On 5 May 2021, SAFA appointed Broos to take charge of the national team. He inherited a side that had failed to qualify for the previous Africa Cup of Nations and was ranked 75th in the world. Many questioned the appointment. Five years on, those doubts look faintly absurd.
Broos is now Bafana’s longest-serving coach, with a record of 24 wins, 19 draws and just six defeats. The team’s FIFA ranking has climbed to 61st, with the top 50 well within sight. Under his watch, Bafana earned a bronze medal at the 2023 AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire – their first continental podium since 2000 – after a campaign that saw them defeat Morocco and reach the semi-finals.
“The biggest improvement since my arrival has been the mentality and professional attitude – the belief in our own qualities,” Broos said a the time.
“The packed stadiums and renewed national fervour that have followed Bafana ever since are testament to how completely he has made the country believe again.
All Roads Lead to North America
In October 2025, Broos completed the mission, leading South Africa to qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It was their first qualification since 2002, and the scenes of celebration that followed told the story of what it means to a country.
The preparations have been methodical. In March 2026, Bafana faced Panama in a pair of international friendlies. Broos confirmed that around 70 to 80 percent of his World Cup squad had been settled following those matches, though several positions remained open.
In defence, Broos is still searching for the ideal partner for Mbekezeli Mbokazi at centre-back, with Ime Okon, Siyabonga Ngezana and the experienced Grant Kekana all in contention.
Midfield is equally competitive, with Teboho Mokoena, Thalente Mbatha, Jayden Adams and Sphelele Sithole all pushing hard for selection.
With the Betway Premiership season concluding in the coming weeks, a late run of form could yet force Broos’s hand before the final squad is confirmed.
One Last Waltz
Broos has been unequivocal that the World Cup will be the final chapter of his coaching career. “No, I have not changed my mind. I will stop coaching after the World Cup,” he said recently. He plans to return to Belgium, spend time with his grandchildren, and step away from the game he has given his life to.
“I hoped that we should go to America for sentimental reasons because you know I was at a World Cup at the end of my career as a player, and now I do it again. I think this is the right moment for me to stop,” he said. His ambition for the tournament is clear and unambiguous: passing the group stages.
SAFA has already begun thinking about his successor, confirming that the process of recruiting a new coach will begin soon – though an extension has not been ruled out.
Whatever comes next, the Belgian leaves behind a transformed team and a legacy that no one who doubted him in 2021 could have imagined.
Broos selected 32 names in his preliminary squad, and will cut down his selection to 26 before his final announcement at the Union Buildings next Wednesday.
BAFANA 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP PRELIMINARY SQUAD:
