Hugo Broos to Kaizer Chiefs duo: Bafana Bafana call-up coming soon

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has given assurances to two Kaizer Chiefs players that they will soon get a call-up to the national team.

Broos unveiled his final 23-man squad for South Africa’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria in September but there was only one Chiefs player in Mduduzi Shabalala.

However, the Bafana coach feels there will be more players in the national team soon, after identifying goalkeeper Brandon Petersen and defender Thabiso Monyane as some of the most improved and who deserve a spot in his team.

“There was a time in the beginning I was here, we really had to search for a good goalkeeper,” Broos said on Thursday after unveiling his squad.

What has Hugo Broos said about Petersen?

“There were none. [Ronwen] Williams was there, [Ricardo] Goss was still in Sundowns, [Sipho] Chaine – nobody knew. Now, we have a choice, we have Leaner, we have Johnson.

“We have now Petersen – when I see the progression of Petersen, compare him with the previous season, he makes a big [jump]. So, we have another good keeper, but I can only select three.

“I know maybe the performances he makes with Chiefs, he deserves it also for the moment, but at the moment, I can’t put out Goss, or I can’t put out Williams, I can’t even put out Chaine. He has to wait, let’s hope for him that the opportunity comes in future.”

Broos then expressed his delight at the performances of Monyane, who has excelled at right-back for Chiefs, since the start of the season.

Monyane promised Bafana call-up in October

“That was a guy who was on our list a year ago and he played a friendly game,” Broos said of the former Orlando Pirates defender.

“But when you see what happened to him at Pirates, he didn’t play anymore. And now, he is back by Chiefs. And you see little by little, he is coming again to a level we expect from him. Maybe this selection was a little bit too soon.

“I hope that he can confirm in the next weeks what he showed us in the four weeks so far and then again he can maybe be with us for the qualifiers in October.”

Both players have formed part of a strong defence for Chiefs that is yet to concede a goal in four straight league matches and will need to maintain that level to convince national team selectors.