A newly-signed Orlando Pirates star is among the new faces in Bafana Bafana’s 23-man squad to face Zambia, while a Kaizer Chiefs attacker has been dropped despite his heroics against Orbit College FC.
Bafana will take on Zambia in an international friendly match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on 15 November as part of preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations set to take place in December.
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Head coach Hugo Broos had named an initial 36-man preliminary squad, which has now been trimmed down to 23.
The squad sees new faces in the form of Masindi Nemtajela and Keletso Makgalwa. The former has emerged as a key figure in the Pirates midfield in recent weeks.
Although yet to make his debut for Bafana’s first team, the 23-year-old was part of the Bafana B side that did duty at the COSAFA Cup earlier this year.
Meanwhile, there have been persistent calls for Makgalwa to be called up after an impressive 2024/25 season n with Sekhukhune United, in which he was nominated for the PSL Footballer of the Season award.
In terms of omissions, one of the most notable is that of Kaizer Chiefs starlet Mduduzi Shabalala, who delivered a Man-of-the-Match display that included two goals and two assists in a 4-1 win over Orbit College FC on Tuesday.
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Interestingly, Broos was in attendance during the fixture at FNB Stadium.
South Africa are in Group B at AFCON, and will face Egypt, Angola, and neighbours Zimbabwe.
