Hugo Broos has named four Kaizer Chiefs players in his Bafana Bafana preliminary squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
In recent years, the Bafana coach has excluded Amakhosi in his squads and given his reasons. With the AFCON just under a month away, the Belgian has included Brandon Petersen, Bradley Cross, Thabiso Monyane and Mduduzi Shabalala in his preliminary squad.
Both Monyane and Shabalala played a small role during Bafana’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers but were not selected earlier this month during South Africa’s friendly against Zambia.
In the last AFCON, none of the Kaizer Chiefs players were selected. Fans of the club have been vocal over the past few months about their players getting excluded from the national team.
Which Kaizer Chiefs players will realistically make it to AFCON?
With Ronwen Williams and Sipho Chaine are likely to be first and second choice keepers, Broos will likely retain Ricardo Goss as a third choice, leaving Petersen out. The Amakhosi keeper has been in good form but his CAF Confederation Cup performance might see him lose out.
At left-back, Bafana are likely to stick with Samukelo Kabini and Aubrey Modiba, with Cross missing out yet again.
At right-back, Monyane might plead his case if he gets more minutes at Chiefs. The ex-Pirates defender was injured and will now have to compete with Reeve Frosler and Dillan Solomons in the starting eleven.
Another Kaizer Chiefs star set to miss out on AFCON selection is Mduduzi Shabalala. The talented attacker has been brilliant in some games, but with the return of Relebohile Mofokeng to the squad, Shaba is likely to lose out.
The preliminary squad has given Kaizer Chiefs players hope but the likelihood is none of them will make the final 23 unless a key defender or playmaker gets injured.