Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos will have to submit his provisional squad by close of business Thursday faced with widening options in his goalkeeping department.
CAF has set a deadline of December 14 for the submission for all 24 qualifying nations to submit their provisional squads of 55 players for the tournament.The latest AFCON finals – the 34th edition – will be played from January 13 to February 11 in Cote d’Ivoire.
READ | Ex-Chiefs player discloses culture of snitches and groupies at club
After the provisional squad, Broos must then submit his final squad of at least 23 players on January 3, 2024, with the option of naming another four players on the list.
Domestic football will pause for the duration of the AFCON finals with the Bafana squad going into camp just after the New Year.
In making the decisions for his squad, Broos will look into the goalkeeping department with a smile.
Ronwen Williams is guaranteed his place as captain and first choice with the Mamelodi Sundowns keeper having played all qualifiers.
The first backup option is Veli Mothwa (32) though the AmaZulu captain didn’t play in his club’s last match against Sundowns.
SuperSport United keeper Ricardo Goss provides the last third of the trio that has been consistently called up.
However, Orlando Pirates’ Melusi Buthelezi has raised his hand high with eight clean sheets in 10 games.
Buthelezi has wrestled the first-choice jersey at Pirates and given Broos wider options in those that should provide backup to Williams.
Darren Keet has only missed a single game for Cape Town City and will worthy of a place considering his form and experience.
The only disadvantage for Keet is his age (34) but has played at two AFCON finals (2015 and 2019) and so will provide reliable backup if anything happens to Ronwen Williams.
READ | Rulani: Only Sundowns brought the intensity
Considering that Bruce Bvuma was previously called up when he wasn’t playing, he will give himself a chance now that he is earning minutes at Kaizer Chiefs. Bafana have been drawn to play in Group E which will be based in Korhogo and will play against Mali (January 16), Namibia (January 21), and Tunisia (January 24).
Broos will head to Cote d’Ivoire as the first ever Bafana coach to arrive at the tournament having previously won it.
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
Click HERE to register!
