3 Players Who Should Have Made Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana Preliminary Squad for 2025 AFCON
- Hugo Broos has been told the players who deserved to be on his Bafana Bafana provisional list ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
- The Belgian gaffer named 55 players in his first list and will cut it down to 23 before the tournament kicks off
- A sports journalist, while speaking to Briefly News, mentioned three players who deserve to be on the list after being overlooked by Broos
It is no longer news that Hugo Broos has released a 55-man preliminary squad for the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations set to take place in Morocco.
Source: Getty Images
The Belgian tactician will reportedly trim the squad to a final 23 players that will travel to North Africa for the competition.
Bafana Bafana are drawn in Group B, where they will battle for a place in the second round with Egypt, Angola, and Zimbabwe. They are also hoping to improve on their performance from the last edition, in which they finished third in Ivory Coast.
3 top players missing in Broos' squad
In a chat with Briefly News, sports journalist Moses Mbogo shared his thoughts on the preliminary list released ahead of the 2025 AFCON tournament. He listed three players he believes should have been included in the squad based on their performances for their respective clubs since last season.
“Hugo Broos provided a good squad, if we are being honest, but I think he already knows the players making the final list and doesn’t want to think outside the box,” he said.
“Thembinkosi Lorch is one of the players who deserve a place in that squad, as he’s been magnificent for Wydad Athletic Club since joining them on loan from Sundowns last season. He also had an amazing start to this campaign, especially during the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States of America.
"Thabo Cele of Kaizer Chiefs is another player who should have been given a chance in the preliminary squad, but he unfortunately misses out.
"Another player who has constantly been overlooked is Tashreeq Matthews. I guess he’s not in Broos' plans for the national team, despite showing how good he is at Mamelodi Sundowns since last season.”
Mbogo also shared his thoughts on the players he believes will certainly make Broos’ final Bafana Bafana squad for the competition.
“I am certain that the likes of Ronwen Williams, Teboho Mokoena, Mbekelezi Mbokazi, Oswin Appollis, Mohau Nkota, Sipho Mbule, and this Burnley striker Lyle Foster are definitely going to make the final cut,” he added.
Source: Getty Images
“They were all consistent during the qualifiers and are the crop of players who would make the starting line-up for the Belgian tactician. The only thing opponents need to work on when facing Bafana Bafana is the tactical approach Broos will use in the game.”
Bafana Bafana will kick off the tournament with a match against Angola on Monday, 22 December 2025, before facing Egypt four days later and ending the group phase against noisy neighbours Zimbabwe.
Mbule shares what Broos told Bafana
Briefly News earlier reported that Sipho Mbule shared what Broos told Bafana Bafana ahead of their friendly game against Zambia.
The Orlando Pirates midfielder was one of the best players in the game against the 2012 AFCON winners.
Source: Briefly News
