Bafana Bafana midfielder Jayden Adams believes the success of Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates will translate into a stronger, more unified national team environment ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
With Sundowns lifting the CAF Champions League title and Pirates ending a 14-year wait to win the domestic league, Adams says the current balance of success across clubs is exactly what benefits the national setup.
Sundowns beat AS FAR Rabat of Morocco 2-1 on aggregate, while the Buccaneers ended Sundowns’ eight-year dominance on the domestic scene. Focus shifts to Bafana coach Hugo Broos this week, with the World Cup just two weeks away.
The Belgian mentor is expected to announce his final squad for next month’s FIFA World Cup on Wednesday, with players from both champions expected to dominate the selection list.
Adams believes that shared winning mentality and experience at the highest level of club football can only strengthen the cohesion in the national dressing room.
JAYDEN ADAMS SATISFIED WITH SECOND STAR
“I’m satisfied after this. I think this is the cherry on the cake for the season, and yeah, we will go out for this moment. We finally got the second star,” he said after the final.
“AS FAR are a very good team, you can’t write them off, but we were also a good team. I think it could have gone both ways, but I think the fighting spirit from our side was just 100%.
Like his captain, Ronwen Williams, the former Stellenbosch FC midfielder believes having core groups of players from successful clubs like Pirates and Sundowns could reduce the time Bafana need to settle, especially in high-pressure international matches.
“I think [Pirates winning the league and Sundowns the Champions League] it’s very important for Bafana Bafana,” Adams told FARPost in Rabat at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Sunday. “For us also as a team [Bafana Bafana] going into the World Cup, I think just to boost us from both sides from Pirates side and Sundowns’ side, just to get together and fight for the country.”
Meanwhile, the 25-year-old revealed how the goal from his midfield partner Teboho Mokoena “changed the mood” in the dressing room at halftime. “Going into the second half, we were like, we can’t concede another one. We were fighting for each other, for the team, and for the coaches. We gave it everything.”
Adams, who missed out on the AFCON 2025, has had a stellar second half of the season. He will now be hoping to make Broos’s squad jetting off to Mexico next week.
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