Bafana Bafana mentor Hugo Broos has revealed four reasons why he selected Orlando Pirates starlet Simphiwe Selepe for the upcoming international friendly matches against Tanzania and Mozambique next month.
This comes after Broos named his Bafana final squad on Thursday, 29 May, for the two friendlies set to be hosted in South Africa.
Bafana will battle out with Tanzania at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Friday, 6 June. The game will kick off at 19:30.
Meanwhile, the second friendly match against Mozambique will take place at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Tshwane on Tuesday, 10 June 2025.
Broos’ troops will report for camp in Johannesburg on Sunday, 1 June, as confirmed by SAFA.
The 20-year-old Selepe made his senior debut for Pirates on the biggest stage when he came on late during a 2-1 Soweto Derby win over Kaizer Chiefs in May 2025.
In the just-ended Betway Premiership campaign, Selepe has made six appearances and scored one goal for the Buccaneers.
THE FOUR SIMPHIWE SELEPE’S ATTRIBUTES THAT STOOD OUT FOR HUGO BROOS
The Belgian mentor highlighted that he selected Selepe because of his passing accuracy [1], ability to score goals [2], versatility [3], and the fact that he is still young [4].
“What I like about Selepe is that, first of all, he is a good midfielder,” said Broos. “He is good at passing and has scored goals. He is a versatile player who not only plays defensively but can also help the team offensively, and he is young.”
The Bafana coach went on to state that this is the right time to introduce the youngsters into the senior team. Broos’ squad also included young talents like Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Mohau Nkota.
“It’s a very good opportunity now to include the youngsters because these are friendly games; it’s not like you’re playing to qualify for AFCON, where if you lose that game, it’s a disaster,” he added.
“But now, even if we lose these two games, we will still not be happy because we have to win them.
“There are guys from the Under-20; these games are good for them, and they can show their skills without pressure. We can also judge them to say, ‘This one is ready, and this one we have to wait a little bit’, two to three months, before we can give him another chance.”
RELATED STORY: Broos reveals biggest Bafana highlight after achieving major milestone