Bafana Bafana will be without captain Ronwen Williams and star man Percy Tau in their 2025 African Cup of Nations Qualifiers against Uganda and South Sudan.
Coach Hugo Broos announced his squad for the first two matches in Group K on Thursday and revealed that Williams is still not ready after going under the knife for a shoulder injury, while he decided to axe Tau from the squad because he is not physically or mentally ready to represent the country.
South Africa kick off their road to Morocco against Uganda at Orlando Stadium next Friday and then travel to South Sudan a few days later.
It remains to be seen who will wear the captain’s armband in the absence of Williams, but Broos says of his replacement in goal: “Yes, it is a loss. But I have full confidence in in the keepers [Ricardo Goss, Veli Mothwa and Sipho Chaine] that are there.”
He adds: “I will not lie, for 80 percent I know who we’ll play. But training is important [to see who comes out tops].”
As for not selecting Tau, Broos explains: “It was not an easy decision for me not to select him. I took into account two things and the first is that he receives a lot of criticism when playing for Bafana at the moment…
“They [fans] don’t like him for the moment – they expect too much of him.“I spoke with him and he said ‘this is part of the game’, but if somebody tells me it doesn’t impact him, he is lying…
“I want to protect Percy…
“Secondly, there are a lot of rumours at Al Ahly... and he is not playing [enough]. The situation is not good.
“So I’m afraid that Percy’s not really ready. We need players who are ready not only physically, but mentally, because those first two [qualifying] games are very important and we have to win those two games.”
BAFANA SQUAD
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos names the preliminary squad to face Uganda and South Sudan in two 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in September 2024. pic.twitter.com/7brilXGsxY
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) August 20, 2024
Goalkeepers: Ricardo Goss, Veli Mothwa, Sipho Chaine.
Defenders: Sydney Mobbie, Thapelo Morena, Rushwin Dortley, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Aubrey Modiba, Khuliso Mudau, Fawaaz Basadien, Siyabonga Ngezana, Grant Kekana.
Midfielders: Teboho Mokoena, Jayden Adams, Sphephelo Sithole, Thalente Mbatha.
Strikers: Themba Zwane, Oswin Appollis, Patrick Maswanganyi, Iqraam Rayners, Elias Mokwana, Lyle Foster, Relebohile Mofokeng.