Broos breaks silence on squad selection: Some players will not be happy

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has broken his silence on his preliminary squad selection and what he believes will be the aftermath of his final selection for the FIFA World Cup to be announced on Wednesday.

Broos' charges are 20 days away from their first match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be a group stage clash against co-hosts Mexico in North America.

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Ahead of the global showpiece, Broos is expected to take with him a final squad of 26 players, but before that, the Belgian mentor had to name an initial 32-man squad.

The squad is expected to report for camp on Monday, 25 May 2026, before Broos reduces the selection down to a final list of 26 travelling players at the Union Buildings on Wednesday, 27 May 2026.

Speaking to media at an Honor event on Thursday, Broos said it was easy to compile an initial 50-man core squad, but the job has become tougher when it comes to trimming it down to a final 26. Broos added that he expects that some players will not be happy.

"It's an exciting time and period for me because a few weeks ago we made a list of 50 players, so that was easy," Broos said.

50 players is easy, now the players that will start the camp preliminary that was a little bit more difficult, but the most difficult of all will be next week, the 27th, when we announce the 26 players."

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"I'm sure there will be players that will not be so happy. There will be players very disappointed but that's the choice I have to make, and I have a good assistant, Helman," he added.

Among the most controversial omissions are Siyabonga Ngezana, Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Sipho Mbule, while Mohau Nkota and Mduduzi Shabalala miss out due to injury.