OPINION – A good Bafana squad, a dreadful squad announcement
· Citizen
If Bafana Bafana’s performance at the 2026 Fifa World Cup finals is as clunky and dull as Wednesday evening’s final squad announcement, they won’t get very far.
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As Bafana head coach Hugo Broos read out the 26 names one-by-one, players walked for what seemed like an age down a nondescript passage onto a nondescript stage.
Where were the Bafana colours?
The music that was playing sounded more like an Irish folk-jig than an Mzansi celebration. And the players were clad in nothing that resembled South African colours. They wore more the hues of Orlando Pirates.
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa at least had a South African scarf around his neck, as he shook hands with each player and posed for a photo.
Getting a presidential send-off is a theme for national teams headed to a World Cup these days, and Ramphosa said in his speech that he expected Bafana to return with the trophy from the USA, Canada and Mexico.
It is hard to know why world leaders feel the need to say this (and Ramaphosa is certainly not alone) when it is so patently unrealistic.
There was also the case of the six players who had been dropped from the squad being forced to attend the event at Ramaphosa’s Pretoria residence.
Broos defended the decision in a press conference in Sandton yesterday, basically saying the group needed to stick together, even in tough moments.
The Bafana head coach also said he had given the six players the option to stay for breakfast with the team yesterday morning, and that they all decided to go home instead.
Realistically they should all have been allowed to go home before the squad announcement. They simply did not need to be in Pretoria.
A humiliation ritual
However good Broos’ intentions, it smacked of a humiliation ritual.
As for the final 26-man squad, I believe it is a good selection. While you can always argue about certain positions, generally Broos has gone with players who have served him so well in recent years.
He has done superbly as Bafana coach, finishing third at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and qualifying Bafana for the World Cup finals, at the expense of Nigeria.
Bafana play an exciting brand of football under Broos, and if they can carry that into the World Cup, they will certainly not be as dull as the squad announcement.
Expectations should not be too high, but there is a chance for Bafana to get out of the group and get into the last 32. Roll on June 11.