South Africa has been hit with a major injury setback ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against Lesotho and Benin.
Ahead of the matches, coach Hugo Broos has been forced to make adjustment to their squad due to injury. Orlando Pirates star Patrick Maswanganyi has been ruled out of the upcoming games after missing his outfit 2-1 win over Mamelodi Sundowns at the weekend.
However, the Bafana Bafana manager has Polokwane City midfielder Ndamulelo Maphangule to replace injured Maswanganyi for the games.
“First choice was (Sinoxolo) Kwayiba from Chippa, but he is also injured on the knee, so therefore we have Maphangule. He’s been performing well with Polokwane, so he deserves this opportunity,” Broos said.
Meanwhile, Aubrey Modiba has yet to join the squad due to the birth of his child but is expected to arrive later.
Despite squad setbacks, Broos remains confident, stating that the newly refurbished Peter Mokaba pitch leaves Bafana with “no excuses” for not getting a positive result.
South Africa will host Lesotho on March 21 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium before traveling to Ivory Coast to face Benin on March 25. The team is currently in second place in Group C, level on points with leaders Rwanda.
