Forget Kaizer Chiefs! Why Bafana Bafana’s Broos is delighted with Pirates and Sundowns ahead of World Cup

Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns have been lauded for their recent domestic and continental triumph in the recently concluded 2025/26 campaign.

The Buccaneers beat Masandawana to the Premier Soccer League crown, their first triumph in 14 years. They further won the MTN8 and the Nedbank Cup to ensure they ended Abdeslam Ouaddou’s debut campaign at the club with a treble.

Despite their struggles at home, the Brazilians did well in the CAF Champions League, where they went all the way to the final, where they beat Botola Pro League outfit AS FAR Rabat 2-1 in aggregate to get their second star.

The majority of the Bafana Bafana players who will represent the nation and Africa at large in the 2026 FIFA World Cup came from the two heavyweights. Kaizer Chiefs produced only one player, Bradley Cross, after finishing third in the league. Coach Hugo Broos has explained why Pirates and Sundowns’ triumphs are welcome ahead of the prestigious global competition.

Why Broos is happy with Pirates and Sundowns’ success

“I think it’s very important [Sundowns and Pirates players winning titles]. First of all, we can say that we have players of the best teams of the season, they are champions,” Broos told the media.

“On the other side, you have players of the Champions League. Certainly, that side of football is very important. Those guys have a lot of high-level experience. They have much experience playing under pressure.

“The game of [a fortnight ago] Sunday [Champions League final, second leg], I can assure you, was the most difficult match of Sundowns in years. Not only the opponent, but mentally. So, that helps a lot when we have those players in our team, and I think together they are 14 or something, 15, I don’t know. It’s important because those guys have a lot of experience.

“But not only that, we have guys who play abroad in different competitions, sometimes better competitions. That helps improve the group’s quality, and again, I’m very happy. Pirates are the champions now, it’s another thing, it’s another feeling,” the Belgian added.

Disappointed players?

“I’m certainly happy that Sundowns won the Champions League because I was afraid that if they lost, I would have had players who are very disappointed,” Broos went on,” Broos argued.

“It should be normal, so I think I would have had a lot of work to do if Sundowns had lost that second leg in the Champions League. Now they came with a boost of confidence, and that helps us a lot.”

Bafana Bafana are in Group A with Mexico, the Czech Republic, and South Korea. Their first game will be with Mexico on June 11 in a repeat of the 2010 edition in Mzansi, a game that ended 1-1.