Bafana Bafana coach Broos slammed for leaving out delivering star from his World Cup squad: ‘It is embarrassing and a joke!’

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has been slammed for leaving out in-form Aarhus GF star Gift Links from his 2026 FIFA World Cup squad despite his consistency for the Danish outfit.

South Africa have never made it past the group stage in the past three editions, and the veteran Belgian tactician is hopeful of making the knockout phase in the forthcoming competition starting July 11. The tournament will be co-hosted by Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

On Wednesday March 27, Broos announced his final 26-man team to the duty, but Links – who was also not part of the initial provisional list, as expected didn’t get his chance.

The Bafana Bafana technical team opted to stick with the majority of the players who helped the team qualify for the 2026 edition. Ensure you have checked our World Cup odds and the best World Cup betting sites in South Africa.

A joke to leave Links out of Bafana Bafana squad

Links made the Danish Superliga team of the season as the Whites won their first title in 40 years. His agent, Paul Mitchell, is unhappy that even with his client shining abroad, Broos didn’t consider him.

“He is one of the few South Africans playing at the top in Europe. He is also the most-rated South African player in Europe. It’s a joke [leaving him out],” he told FARPost.

“But it is what it is. Right now, Gift is already in Cape Town, enjoying himself and a well-deserved rest. He wants to play for his country, and I think he deserves to be there. It’s embarrassing that we have a national team coach who has never travelled overseas to watch a single game of players doing well. 

“I have talked about this before, Links not being called up, and I don’t want to be that agent again who complains. How do certain players get selected ahead of Gift? That’s embarrassing,” Mitchell concluded.

Bafana Bafana are in Group A with Mexico, the Czech Republic and South Korea.