Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos, has indicated that selecting his squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will be a challenging process, particularly for some players.
Over the past two years, the Belgian coach has been preparing the team for this year’s AFCON and next year’s FIFA World Cup. However, only 23 players will be chosen to join him and the technical staff in Morocco, which means that several players who contributed to Bafana Bafana’s success will not be included.
In 2024, Broos led South Africa to a third-place finish in the last AFCON, despite facing scepticism from many. With a wide pool of talented players to consider, Broos has acknowledged that making the final selections for the upcoming AFCON will be difficult in the weeks ahead.
“I know that what was so easy two years ago will now be very difficult to do because we have more than 23 players who can go to Afcon and deserve to go to Afcon. I will make decisions, and some of them will be painful for the players and also for me personally because it’s not a nice thing to drop a player,” Broos said as per the Sowetan.
Broos undecided on AFCON squad
Against Zambia, Broos tried out a few combinations, especially in defence. With his team winning 3-1 and more players raising their hands, it will be difficult for the Belgian to select a strong, balanced 23-man squad.
“Today I gave players who hadn’t played much in the past some minutes…to see how they react and how they are adapting to the team tactically. Again, I am certainly satisfied but not 100%…but I wanted to see what I saw today,” Broos said after the Zambian match.
The likes of Ronwen Williams, Teboho Mokoena and Oswin Appollis have already done enough to cement their place in the squad but for the majority of the players, is all to fight for in the coming weeks.
With the PSL taking a break on 06 December, Broos will likely select his final 23-man AFCON squad around that time.