Hugo Broos issues Fifa World Cup warning to Bafana Bafana stars ahead of Panama friendlies

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is eager to kill two birds with one stone during the ongoing international window, which is why the FIFA World Cup 2026 hopes of players who missed out on the current camp are in serious jeopardy.

The South Africa senior men's national team are currently assembled in Johannesburg and are set to play back-to-back friendlies against Panama in Durban on Friday (kick-off 7pm) and in Cape Town next Tuesday, as preparation for the upcoming Fifa World Cup in North America in June.

Although Panama would not have been Broos and Co's first choice to play in these friendlies — they do not boast well-known player base — they are ranked 33rd in the Fifa world rankings, 27 places ahead of Bafana. Regardless, Broos indicated recently he is still pleased to test his team against the Central American side.

The Belgian believes Los Canaleros will provide a true test of their readiness for the World Cup opener against co-hosts Mexico on June 11, as the two Central American teams have a similar style of play.

Given that the next Fifa international window will be between June 1- 9 — mere days before the start of the World Cup — Broos arguably already has a final squad, that will represent the country and the continent at the global showpiece, forming in his mind.

As such, it will be crucial for the players who are in camp to impress across the board, as that will go a long way in persuading or solidifying their place in the squad that will board the flight to Mexico later this year, while also building much-needed momentum and confidence with postive results to lean on going forward.

“(The players) mustn’t think that they’ll come here, have a nice camp and go back to their club,” Broos said.

“I will really observe every moment – how players behave, their attitude, the training load. That will then be important in my mind when I make my choice (for the final squad) … this is more than just a camp.”

Unfortunately, Sipho Mbule, Sipho Chaine and Iqraam Rayners are the notable absentees who have been dropped for this camp.

The trio’s absence hasn't clearly been explained by the Broos, who insisted that they needed to look at themselves in the mirror and ask whether they had done enough to meet the requirements of national duty, including attitude and discipline.

One player who has ticked most of the requirement boxes for Broos, following some time in the wilderness, is Jayden Adams. The Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder is back in the Bafana set-up, after previously being omitted for limited game time and ill-discipline.

“I think Jayden is the same story as Rele (Mofokeng) and (Mbekezeli) Mbokazi – when you’re so young and suddenly you become a very good player, a star, and there is so much interest in you, it’s difficult to manage that,” Broos said.

“At a certain moment, Jayden lost himself also. The moment he went to Sundowns, I think he thought, ‘ah, things are done’. Time went on, he was not playing, he was on the bench, and he was even in the stands at certain moments.

“He did what he did with the national team, and I was not happy with that. But he’s learnt a lot, and he knows now. When you see him playing, he’s more mature and the qualities are still there. This maturity is something he gained in the last year.”

With Adams not only a regular in the Sundowns team, playing week-in and week-out, but also on course to help the side win the Betway Premiership and CAF Champions League, Broos feels that experience will come in handy.

“He became conscious of himself. He looked in the mirror and said, ‘Jayden, if you go on like this your career is finished – you will go to Marumo Gallants or whatever’,” Broos said.

“At Sundowns, he wouldn’t succeed. So I’m very happy about it. Everyone knows he’s a very good player and I think he can help us a lot.”