Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane says he does not select his squad based on names and reputation, insisting that no player is guaranteed a place in his team.
The experienced coach is currently overseeing his second camp since returning for a second stint with the national side. Bafana are preparing for 2027 AFCON qualifiers against Benni McCarthy’s Kenya on Friday at home and November 17 away.
The current camp comes on the backdrop of three wins against Guinea, Eritrea and Egypt the last time Bafana grouped, in what marked Mosimane’s return. Inheriting a squad left by his predecessor Hugo Broos after participation at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the ex-Mamelodi Sundowns has not made many changes.
In the previous FIFA period, Mosimane did not have the likes of Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Thalente Mbatha due to injuries, while Lyle Foster was trying to settle down after a move from Burnley FC to Houston Dynamo FC in Major League Soccer. But the trio is now back in the national team.
MOSIMANE ON WHAT DECIDES WHO DESERVES THE BAFANA JERSEY
The former Al Ahly coach has demanded that his players demonstrate that they are still on top of their games at their clubs to earn national team call-ups. It could explain why veteran midfielder Themba Zwane has been dropped as he struggles to reclaim form at Sundowns.
However, defender Ime Okon is back in the national team despite struggling for game time at his Bundesliga 2 side, Hannover 96.
“You have to have the mentality to want the jersey because when you have the jersey, keep it. Don’t give it to somebody else. But there are things that are beyond what you want to do, like injuries,” Mosimane told the media as Bafana grouped for their first training session at Milpark Stadium on Monday.
“We don’t have Thapelo Maseko. So injuries happen. We didn’t have Mbokazi, but he also had a chance to come back like Lyle, like Thalente Mbatha.
“So, everyone has an opportunity to be back, but we don’t just bring you back because you were part of that [2026 FIFA World Cup team]. We still have to check if you are playing and if you are at the level which you were playing [before], and the contribution that you are giving your team. It’s very important.
“Its good to give Lyle [Foster] a chance. Iqraam [Rayners] is also doing well, let’s be honest. It is not about paving ways for names and surnames, no. I have to be honest and give the boys a fair chance to play and to make them aware that if you work hard, you will keep the jersey.”
PITSO MOSIMANE INSISTS NO SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR BAFANA PLAYERS
Mosimane has given a Lionel Messi analogy as he explains that no player is guaranteed a place in the Bafana squad.
“Also, to make anybody who comes aware that they have to respect people who are playing well at that time in your position when you were not around. You have got to have the respect that you would have felt when you were playing, and then someone else comes now, and you’re playing well, and then you must make way,” the 62-year-old coach went on.
“We are not yet in a position where we have a Lionel Messi as the boss of the team, to say we have to make sure that we pave the way because this guy is so much influential than others.
“Yes, [Kylian] Mbappe and them are influential, and week in, week out, they show how they are. When they are fit and ready. You saw [Jude] Bellingham, he had injuries and all that, but went to the World Cup, and he showed the coach that he deserves to be back, and there are no arguments in that space when you can do what Bellingham did in the World Cup.”
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