Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has defended his handling of the final Bafana Bafana World Cup squad announcement after six players were left out of the 26-man group.

The Belgian coach said he only finalised his decision late on Wednesday and wanted to keep the wider squad together until the official announcement at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria.

Broos explains Bafana Bafana World Cup squad decision

Broos reduced his 32-player preliminary squad to 26 on Wednesday night as South Africa prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The players omitted were Thapelo Morena, Lebohang Maboe, Brandon Petersen, Brooklyn Poggenpoel, Thabiso Monyane and Patrick Maswanganyi.

The decision drew criticism because the players were present at the public announcement, where the selected group celebrated with Broos and President Cyril Ramaphosa. Some critics argued that Broos should have privately informed the omitted players before the event.

However, Broos said he only made the final decision at 16:00 on Wednesday. He said he wanted to avoid the impression that he had already picked the final Bafana Bafana World Cup squad before the mini-camp ended.

“I wanted to keep that group together during difficult moments,” Broos said, according to the source article. He added that sending the six players home before the presidential farewell would have been worse for them.

Final warm-up before South Africa leave for Mexico

SAFA confirmed last week that Broos had named a 32-member preliminary squad on 21 May, with the camp scheduled to begin in Johannesburg on 25 May. The final 26-player squad will now continue preparations for South Africa’s return to the World Cup stage.

Bafana Bafana will face Nicaragua at Orlando Stadium on Friday, 29 May 2026, at 18:00 SAST. SAFA said the match will be the team’s final home fixture before they travel to Mexico for the tournament.

SAFA has also confirmed that South Africa will be based in Pachuca, Mexico. The team will train at Universidad del Futbol and stay at the Camino Real Pachuca hotel outside the city.

No player reaction confirmed

Broos said he invited the six omitted players to remain with the squad until breakfast the next day. However, they chose to return home after the announcement, according to the supplied source.

No direct public response from the six omitted players was included in the source article. For that reason, their views have not been added.