Hugo Broos will soon decide on his future after leading Bafana Bafana out of the FIFA World Cup group stages for the first time in South Africa’s history.
SAFA and Broos are expected to announce the Belgium-born coach’s future in the coming weeks.
Following South Africa’s historic FIFA World Cup campaign, Hugo Broos would leave on a high if he decides to step down, as he has previously hinted he would do.
Meanwhile, the Bafana Bafana job has attracted widespread interest with over 60 reported applicants for the job.
Some of the biggest names in South African football have reportedly also thrown their names into the hat, with Benni McCarthy, Rulani Mokwena and Pitso Mosimane among those to have done so.
Let’s rank them from most to least likely to replace Broos as the next Bafana Bafana head coach – with the understanding none may end up even being shortlisted.
ALSO READ: BAFANA BAFANA’S NEXT COACH: LOOK OUT PITSO! BENNI MCCARTHY AND EX-SUNDOWNS COACH JOIN THE RACE
RANKED: THREE LEADING CANDIDATES TO COACH BAFANA BAFANA
1. PITSO MOSIMANE – THE FRONTRUNNER
Mosimane is my favourite to succeed Hugo Broos. He is the most experienced and decorated coach among the three aforementioned candidates.
Mosimane won four PSL titles with Mamelodi Sundowns between 2015 and 2020. During that period, he also guided The Brazilians to their maiden CAF Champions League title in 2016.
He then joined African giants Al Ahly, where he won two CAF Champions League titles and led the Egyptian side to back-to-back third-place finishes at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Everything he touches seems to turn to gold.
Thereafter, Mosimane joined Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia, where he was tasked with returning the club to the top flight. He achieved that objective immediately by winning the First Division title in his first season.
He later coached Al Wahda (UAE), Abha Club (Saudi Arabia) and Esteghlal FC (Iran), further strengthening his international coaching résumé.
Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, believes Mosimane is the ideal successor.
“SAFA are saying they are shortlisting coaches but only one coach must lead Bafana – Pitso Mosimane,” McKenzie said according to SABC Sport.
McKenzie believes SA football needs somebody local – who understands the local brand and how we want to play.
“We need a person who understands our boys. What more do you want Pitso to do? I put my wage as Minister of Sport behind Pitso. We see France now playing with Didier Deschamps, playing their soccer,” he added.
“Our players are young, we will unearth a lot of players, Pitso Mosimane will take Bafana forward,” he concluded.
2. RULANI MOKWENA (EX-SUNDOWNS COACH)
Mokwena ranks second due to his extensive coaching experience.
He followed in Mosimane’s footsteps at Mamelodi Sundowns. Alongside Manqoba Mngqithi, he guided The Brazilians to four successive PSL titles between 2020 and 2024.
He later coached Wydad AC, MC Alger and Al-Ittihad. Although he did not replicate the same trophy haul achieved at Masandawana, he continued to produce solid results. Mokwena won the 2025/26 Algerian Super Cup with MC Alger.
Moreover, he averaged an impressive two points per game during his spells with both MC Alger (30 matches) and Al-Ittihad (nine matches), underlining his coaching credentials.
3. BENNI MCCARTHY (ORLANDO PIRATES LEGEND)
McCarthy is an Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana legend. He also remains the only South African to win the UEFA Champions League, achieving that feat under José Mourinho with FC Porto in 2005.
Although his coaching career is relatively young, it has already been highly impressive.
McCarthy took charge of AmaZulu in December 2020. Within months, he transformed a mid-table side into CAF Champions League qualifiers after guiding Usuthu to their highest-ever PSL finish of second, ahead of both Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
He then joined Manchester United as an attacking coach, where he worked with Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford and several other elite players. Currently he serves as head coach of Kenya.
McCarthy has made history as both a player and a coach.
However, Mosimane and Mokwena possess significantly more head coaching experience. Even so, his reputation, achievements and growing coaching pedigree make him a serious contender.
VERDICT: MOSIMANE IS THE RIGHT MAN TO REPLACE BROOS
Ultimately, Mosimane remains the strongest candidate. He is the most experienced, the most decorated and arguably the safest appointment.
From a practical perspective, he is also the only one currently available. Mokwena is serving as Technical Director at Al-Ittihad, while McCarthy remains under contract as Kenya’s head coach.
From a football perspective, Mosimane also has unfinished business.
He parted ways with Bafana Bafana in 2012. However, since then, he has built one of the greatest coaching résumés in African football history.
Now, he has an opportunity to return and complete what he started.
After Bafana Bafana’s third-place finish at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and their historic FIFA World Cup campaign under Hugo Broos, the foundations are already in place.
Mosimane could be the ideal coach to build on that momentum and take South Africa to even greater heights.
SHOULD SAFA APPOINT A LOCAL OR AN INTERNATIONAL COACH TO TAKE CHARGE OF BAFANA BAFANA NEXT?
Give us your opinions in the comments section below …