Pitso Mosimane Unveils First Bafana Bafana Squad for Afcon 2027 Qualifiers
Pitso Mosimane has wasted no time. Days after taking the Bafana Bafana job, he has dropped a 35-man preliminary squad for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea, setting the tone for a new era without tearing up the old script.
New era, familiar stakes
These will be Mosimane’s first matches in charge, with South Africa kicking off their Afcon qualifying campaign at home to Guinea on 26 September. That clash forms part of the Pamoja tournament, jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
From there, Bafana hit the road to face Eritrea away. Eritrea, though, will not be playing on home soil – their “home” fixture will be staged in Egypt due to the lack of a suitable stadium in the country.
The calendar is tight, the margin for error even tighter. Mosimane’s first squad had to carry both continuity and a jolt of fresh energy. It does exactly that.
Injury blows to former core players
Four names are missing for reasons that will frustrate any coach. Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Khuliso Mudau, Thalente Mbatha and Evidence Makgopa are all sidelined with injuries and have been left out of the preliminary list.
All four were central figures under former coach Hugo Broos during the 2026 World Cup campaign. Their absence rips out a chunk of the spine that helped Bafana back onto the global stage and forces Mosimane into early adjustments he might have preferred to delay.
Fresh faces stake their claim
The door has swung open for a new wave of contenders.
- Lebone Seema
- Tshepo Mashilane
- Jemran Dansin
- Yanela Mutuma
- Cassius Mailula
- Puso Dithejane
- Tashreeq Matthews
- Ronaldo van Niel
- Luther Singh
- Shandre Campbell
All headline the list of notable inclusions.
Some of these names will be unfamiliar to casual observers. They won’t be unfamiliar for long if they seize this window. The preliminary call-ups do not guarantee a final squad place, but they send a clear message: reputations under the previous regime no longer guarantee anything.
Brooklyn Poggenpoel and Lebohang Maboe also return to the national picture. Both missed out on the final 2026 World Cup squad, and their recall into this extended group gives them a fresh shot at re-establishing themselves at international level.
For players on the fringes, this is the moment to turn a camp invitation into something more permanent.
Mosimane keeps his core
Amid the shake-up, Mosimane has been careful not to dismantle the backbone that carried Bafana through recent tournaments.
Captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams is in. So is Sipho Chaine, giving stability in the last line of defence. At the back, Tapelo Morena, Aubrey Modiba and Nkosinathi Sibisi are all retained, preserving combinations that have already been tested in high-pressure matches.
In midfield, Teboho Mokoena and Sphephelo Sithole remain central to the plan, their presence signalling that Mosimane values the balance and bite they bring. Further forward, Relebohile Mofokeng and Themba Zwane keep their places, offering craft and creativity between the lines.
It is not a revolution. It is a recalibration.
A first glimpse of Mosimane’s blueprint
This preliminary squad is only a draft, but it offers a revealing first look at Mosimane’s thinking. He has kept a trusted core, brought back players who slipped just short of the World Cup cut, and opened the door to a cluster of hungry newcomers.
The real judgment will come at the end of September, when Guinea arrive and Eritrea wait in Egypt. By then, this list of 35 will be trimmed, the experiments reduced, and Mosimane’s first real Bafana statement will be written on the pitch, not on paper.
