All Bafana players will get their shot in upcoming friendlies

Durban — Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has indicated that fringe players will be given opportunities to feature in their friendly internationals against Guinea and France during the current international break.

The 23-man squad chosen by Broos for the games consists of mainly inexperienced players. The likes of Goodman Mosele, Bandile Shandu, Khuliso Mudau and Athenkosi Mcaba will all be looking to make their national team debuts.

Broos did confirm that Mosele entered the national team camp with a non-serious ankle injury. The Orlando Pirates midfielder is unlikely to feature against Guinea but Broos did add that he could play against France.

“The purpose of the games will be to give everyone minutes to play. I want to see everyone in those two games because it is very important ahead of the Afcon qualifiers in June. These will be training games. We will try something different against Guinea and we have something in mind for the game against France. I expect a good performance and the players are motivated. I hope that we will have a good game and beat Guinea,” said Broos.

Broos said that his team’s preparations have been going well. However, he did confirm that Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Fagrie Lakay were yet to arrive in the camp due to Visa issues.

“Those guys will be playing against France so I did not count on them to play against Guinea,” said Broos of the duo.

The current international break marks the first time that Bafana Bafana will be playing in Europe since their 1-0 loss to Poland back in October 2012. Some have criticized the national team for costly trips to Europe for games that won’t mean a lot in the long-run as far as the result goes but Broos insists that his team needs to pit themselves against tough opposition if they hope to improve.

“It’s a pity that Bafana Bafana have not played against a European team for so long. After the World Cup qualifiers, we realized that we needed to play against tough opponents. We can learn a lot from playing against tough opponents than playing against, with all due respect Botswana.

“In Africa, teams like Cameroon and Senegal which have players playing in Europe are ahead of us and at the top,” said Broos.

Bafana Bafana did surpass the expectations of many in 2022 World Cup qualifying and remained in the hunt for a place in the final play-offs until the final day when they were narrowly usurped by Ghana. Broos earned praise for the improvement in performances he brought, especially as it came with him using mostly younger players.

The veteran tactician has said that he picked the latest squad with a view to improving upon flaws he identified during World Cup qualifying.

“After the World Cup qualifiers, we realized that we needed pace, experience and power. The guys that have been selected have that. We hope that we can increase our quality and be stronger for the Afcon qualifiers from June.

“From then, we will hope to be stronger for the next World Cup qualifiers,” said Broos.

@eshlinv