After Hugo Broos announced his final 26-man Bafana Bafana squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, six players were dropped from his preliminary squad.
Bafana will face Nicaragua in their final World Cup friendly at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Friday before jetting off to their World Cup camp on Saturday.
Broos had selected an initial 32-man squad, but had to cut it down to 26 names as per FIFA rules.
Kaizer Chiefs duo Brandon Petersen, Thabiso Monyane and Lebohang Maboe all missed out, despite being key players for their club.
In addition, Orlando Pirates’ Patrick Maswanganyi misses out, despite a career-high of 10 goals across all competitions in 2025/26.
Mamelodi Sundowns’ Thapelo Morena was also not included, with question marks over his fitness after Miguel Cardoso stated he had picked up an injury late in the season.
Brooklyn Poggenpoel, who was a surprise inclusion in the preliminary squad after helping Durban City to the Nedbank Cup, was also dropped from Broos’ final selection.
All six players who were left out:
- Brandon Petersen (Kaizer Chiefs)
- Thabiso Monyane (Kaizer Chiefs)
- Lebohang Monyane (Kaizer Chiefs)
- Brooklyn Poggenpoel (Durban City)
- Patrick Maswanganyi (Orlando Pirates)
- Thapelo Morena (Mamelodi Sundowns)
