By REGINALD KANYANE

22 May 2026 – Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has announced a 32-member preliminary squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The team will assemble in Johannesburg on Monday, 25 May 2026 and the camp will start with 24 players as the Mamelodi Sundowns players and the overseas-based contingent will still be out of the country. Sundowns will only return to South Africa on Tuesday, 26 May  as they face Morocco side AS Far in the second leg of their CAF Champions League final at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Sunday, 24 May 2026.

The final team for the FIFA World Cup will be announced at Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria on Wednesday, 27 May 2026 and Broos will be joined by South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa and South African Football Association (SAFA) President Dr Danny Jordaan, among others, as the names of the traveling 26 players are confirmed to the nation..

As part of the South African senior men’s national team’s preparations for the global tournament, Johannesburg’s Orlando Stadium will host Bafana Bafana’s FIFA World Cup send-off match against Nicaragua next week. The match will be played on Friday 29 May 2026 and the kickoff is at 18h00.

South Africa was drawn in Group A during the FIFA World Cup draw held in Washington DC in December 2025. Bafana Bafana will compete against Mexico, South Korea, and Czech Republic. Mexico will host Bafana Bafana in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 11, 2026, at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City and this game will mark the start of the 48-team tournament.

This year’s FIFA World Cup will be hosted by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026.

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By OBAKENG MAJE

22 May 2026 – Head coach of the South African U17 Men’s National team, Vela Khumalo, says they have learnt some important lessons after they bowed out of the 2026 CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) following a 3-1 defeat to Ghana on Wednesday night in Morocco.

South Africa finished bottom of the table in Group D on three points following one win and two defeats. Senegal took the top spot with six points, followed by Algeria with both nations qualifying for the World Cup. Ghana ended third in the group.

“We are not happy with the results, we wanted to be part of the knockout stage, we wanted to go to the World Cup but we did not make it. Sad for the talent that we have, sad for the boys that are not going through, and we’ll see again in the next COSAFA competition, it’s back to square one with a new group. But I think again lessons learnt and we move on,” said Khumalo.

Amajimbos suffered two penalty calls against them with Ghana captain Joseph Narbi converting both to give the West Africans the lead. In between the two goals, South Africa suffered a setback when an injured Omphemetse Sekgotho, who was the livewire in the team, was replaced by Inganathi Simama in the 27^th minute.

Defender Kristan O’Malley hit the crossbar just before the recess. Ghana came back from the break eager to increased their lead but South African goalkeeper and captain Lwandiso Radebe pulled off a double save to deny the West Africans.

In the 66^th minute Thandanani Mhlongo gave Amajimbos a glimmer of hope with a well taken goal to make 1-2. There was still time for drama in the match as South Africa’s Zazi Qotoyi was given a straight red card for pulling an opponent with eight minutes remaining.

Augustine Appiah got the third for Ghana and no matter how hard Amajimbos tried, they could not reduce the deficit, ending in a 1-3 defeat. The South Africans return home on Saturday following one win and two losses. They came from behind to defeat Senegal 2-1 but lost 0-2 against Algeria in their second match.

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