Pitso Mosimane Set to Finalise His First Bafana Bafana Squad
- Pitso Mosimane has already named his preliminary Bafana Bafana squad, but several big decisions still need to be made
- The returning Bafana coach has plenty of options to consider as he prepares to trim his preliminary squad for three matches
- With Guinea, Eritrea and Egypt ahead, Mosimane now faces some interesting selection decisions before his first final squad is confirmed
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Pitso Mosimane is preparing to name his final Bafana Bafana squad, but the coach has already given supporters a strong indication of his thinking.
On 4 September, Mosimane announced a 35-man preliminary squad for the upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea, as well as the international friendly against Egypt.
The final squad is expected on Thursday, 17 September. Reports before the preliminary announcement had already indicated that date as the target for Mosimane's final selection.
Rather than starting completely from scratch, Mosimane has retained much of the core that represented South Africa at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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Ronwen Williams, Teboho Mokoena, Relebohile Mofokeng, Themba Zwane and Lyle Foster are among the established names included.
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New faces are also in the mix
Mosimane's preliminary selection was not simply a continuation of Hugo Broos' squad.
Players such as Puso Dithejane, Fawaaz Basadien, Cemran Dansin, Ronaldo van Neel, Shandre Campbell, Cassius Mailula and Luther Singh also had opportunities. SABC News also highlighted Golden Arrows striker Van Neel and Orlando Pirates' Cemran Dansin among the surprise inclusions.
Dithejane has subsequently spoken about his hopes of making the final 23-man squad. The Chicago Fire winger has been in strong form in MLS and was one of the players brought into contention after the World Cup.
There are also notable absences. Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Khuliso Mudau, Thalente Mbatha and Evidence Makgopa were missing from the preliminary group because of injuries.
Three matches will launch the new era
Mosimane's final selection comes with little time for preparation. Bafana will host Guinea at Orlando Stadium on 26 September before travelling to Egypt to face Eritrea on 30 September. They will then play Egypt in Cairo on 4 October.
CAF confirmed that South Africa are in Group D alongside Guinea, Eritrea and Kenya, with Kenya's status as one of the tournament's co-hosts affecting the qualification situation.
The next announcement is therefore not about discovering Mosimane's thinking from scratch. His 35-man preliminary squad has already provided the clues. The main question now is which players make the final cut.
Pitso Mosimane's Bafana Bafana technical team decision
Briefly News previously reported that Mosimane's return to Bafana Bafana came with changes to his technical team, with the coach opting to work with his own trusted assistants.
The decision to leave Helman Mkhalele out of the new setup attracted attention, particularly given his role under former coach Hugo Broos. Mosimane later explained his thinking, using an unexpected example involving Carlo Ancelotti and his son Davide.
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Source: Briefly News
