Head coach Hugo Broos has doubled down on his squad selection ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations amid criticism after several surprising omissions.
After qualifying top of their group in the AFCON qualifiers, Broos’ men are set to jet off to West Africa to participate in AFCON to be hosted in Ivory Coast.
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Having named a final 23-squad that excludes regulars like Njabulo Blom, Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Innocent Maela among others, Broos has received plenty of criticism over his selection,
However, the Belgian mentor has stuck to his guns and insists the selected team has what it takes to
"As you know that when you select a team, you believe in the team and I believe in this team," Broos told journalists shortly after announcing his final 23-man squad.
"I said it already in the months before and sometimes I believe in a player even when people outside don’t believe in them, they say ‘why is this one in the national team’.
"So yes, I am looking forward and really excited to begin preparations.
"So for me, I’m rather optimistic and okay that doesn’t mean it will be easy to pass the group stages but there are possibilities if we can achieve the best level in the first game.
"This is very important, if we can win the first game, I think then we have a big chance to pass the group stages."
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Bafana will kick off their AFCON title ambitions with a Group E clash against Mali on 16 January before meeting Namibia on 21 January and wrapping up the group stage action against Tunisia on 24 January.
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