Hugo Broos Explains Late Call-Up of Sipho Mbule to Bafana Bafana

Head coach Hugo Broos has detailed the late addition of Orlando Pirates midfielder Sipho Mbule to the Bafana Bafana squad following an injury to teammate Patrick Maswanganyi.

Last Thursday, Broos announced the final 23-man squad for South Africa’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria. The squad had been trimmed from an initial 48-man list, but injuries forced further changes.

Themba Zwane was the first to withdraw due to an injury expected to sideline him for around two months. Maswanganyi, named as Zwane’s replacement, also suffered an injury during Pirates’ 3-0 win over Chippa United. This opened the door for Mbule, who has not played for Bafana Bafana since 2021.

“Why Sipho Mbule? I think everybody agrees that he’s a player with many qualities and I have to agree also that in the past years, we didn’t really see what we expected from a player like that,” Broos told journalists during training camp on Monday.

Broos described Mbule as an experienced player capable of filling the void left by Zwane. “You know already for more than a year, we have been looking for a replacement of Themba. We had ‘Tito’, but now Tito is also injured, so it was very difficult to find someone with those qualities. And I think with Mbule, we have the right player in the right position,” he added.

Mbule, popularly nicknamed ‘Master Chef’, joined Orlando Pirates before the start of the season. While he has not been a regular starter, he has shown glimpses of quality and featured in the national team’s last two preliminary squads.

Broos also indicated that he will speak to Mbule in training to outline his expectations.

Bafana Bafana will face Lesotho at Dr. Petrus Molemela Stadium on Friday, before hosting Nigeria at the Free State Stadium next Tuesday. Both matches kick off at 18:00 and are crucial for South Africa’s qualification bid for the USA/Mexico/Canada 2026 World Cup.