Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has defended his controversial decision to announce his final 26-man World Cup squad live on TV, which left six axed players watching the celebrations from the sidelines. Photo: Backpagepix
Image: Backpagepix
Hugo Broos defended his decision to retain the 32-member preliminary squad until the final 2026 FIFA World Cup team was named on Wednesday night at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse.
Thapelo Morena, Lebohang Maboe, Brandon Petersen, Brooklyn Pogenpoel, Thabiso Monyane, and Patrick Maswanganyi were the six players who were cut from the group set to represent the country at the global showpiece next month.
The public omission appeared harsh to some, as the players were announced live on Wednesday, leading to images of them peering through a window while the chosen squad celebrated with Broos and President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Critics who were displeased with the optics directed their criticism at Broos, arguing that he should have informed the players of their exclusion prior to the official event.
Defending his choice, Broos explained that he only finalised the 26-man list at 4pm that day, wishing to maintain the group until the last minute and to be transparent – avoiding the impression of pre-selecting the team for the mini-camp.
“I wanted to keep that group together during difficult moments," Broos noted.
"Personally, I think it would have been much worse for the players Wednesday afternoon if I had told them ‘you guys, go home, because you are not with the 26’. That wouldn’t have been honest toward them. That’s why I kept them together with everyone.”
“They attended an event with the president, alongside everyone. The final decision was disappointing for them, but they remained members of Bafana Bafana. That was important to me.
“So, even though they were disappointed after hearing the news last night, it wasn’t as terrible as if I had told them earlier, where I would have likely said: ‘Guys, go home now, you won't even join us for the president’s farewell'.
"That is what I wanted to prevent. I wanted them to feel my confidence in them, but I had to make a selection. I think it was the most appropriate approach.”
To maintain his future confidence in the omitted players, Broos revealed that he had extended an invitation for them to stay with the World Cup-bound team until the following day after breakfast, but they all chose to return home immediately following the announcement in Pretoria.
Broos was reflecting on his final squad decisions at the Southern Sun Hotel in Sandton on Thursday morning, while also previewing Bafana’s last home friendly against Nicaragua at Orlando Amstel Arena on Friday (6pm) before the team's Sunday departure.