Former Mamelodi Sundowns defender Wayne Arendse has explained why he thinks Hugo Broos should expand the number of Bafana Bafana players he will go with to the 2025 AFCON tournament.
The Belgian coach has already named his 54-man provisional squad, which he intends to trim down to the 23 players he will take to Morocco. However, teams are allowed by CAF to submit a list of up to 27 players if they wish.
The option to register four extra players has been in place for the last two AFCON editions. But Broos stuck to 23 men when Bafana claimed bronze in the Ivory Coast.
With some fierce debate surrounding the AFCON squad selection, the former Cameroon coach is faced with difficult decisions to make. Already, there has been talk around the exclusion of the likes of Thembinkosi Lorch, Grant Kekana and Gift Links from the preliminary squad.
After coming up with his final list of 23, Broos will place some players on standby. Arendse has advised the coach to take up the option of additional players and travel with them to Morocco.
There is an air of anticipation as the South Africa national side coach is expected to announce his final squad on Monday, November 1.
WHY BROOS SHOULD SELECT MORE THAN 23 BAFANA PLAYERS FOR AFCON?
“I would say it definitely makes sense to take the extra four or five players. The reason being, at the same time you are preparing for the [2026 FIFA] World Cup,” Arendse told FARPost.
“If you also think that this is the core that will make it to the World Cup, add those boys into the camp to experience AFCON. So, you can still add your standby players to the core players.
“The standby players, I would suggest you take them with you to AFCON so that they can also be in the camp, be in the surroundings of tournament football.
“You never know what happens in football; you might have three of your regulars injured by the time the World Cup comes. Hamstring, groin injuries or those niggles that will keep you out for three weeks.
“You normally get those injuries towards the end of the season. It’s always advisable that if they give you a slot of 27 or 28, just go with the 27 or 28.”
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