Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has explained why he included Sekhukhune United winger Keletso Makgalwa in the team to face Zambia in an international friendly.
Makgalwa had previously made the Bafana preliminary squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Zimbabwe and Rwanda but didn’t make the final cut as Broos leaned on his tried and tested group to secure a ticket to North America next year.
The 28-year-old has four assists in 11 league matches this season so far and made it to the final 23 man squad to face Chipolopolo this month.
“You know when you play qualifiers you can’t stop to do experiments. It is too dangerous,” said Broos when asked about Makgalwa.
“So now it’s a friendly game, okay we want to win it, I don’t want to lose against Zambia, certainly no. But if we lose or if we give him a chance and he doesn’t perform like we expect him, what’s the problem. You can’t do that in a qualifier.
“So that’s why now Makgalwa is there, he was already a few months on the list but when you play such important games like the qualifiers to the World Cup you can’t do that.
“You need to take your selection, your team, the guys whom you know have the level that they can help us to qualify and not taking a young boy who you don’t know for the moment if he has already Bafana Bafana level or we still have to wait in the future. And that’s why Makgalwa is here.”
