‘I hope he can change clubs’ — Broos as he omits Tau from Bafana again

‘If we have a good combination with the right mentality we've shown in games before, we'll qualify’

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is hoping to wrap up the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with a win against Uganda at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala on November 15 so there's no pressure in their last match hosting South Sudan.

The South Africans — in second place on eight points to Uganda (10) in group K, with Congo third on four — play their last qualifier against South Sudan, on zero points, at Cape Town Stadium on November 19.

With the top two teams qualifying, this year's bronze medallists South Africa need a win from one of those two games to reach the next tournament in Morocco that spans December 2025 and January 2026.

Announcing his squad on Thursday, Broos said a win in Kampala will allow Bafana “a relaxed game” against South Sudan, where he would be able to experiment with emerging players. 

Broos made a few changes to his squad, selecting Stellenbosch FC goalkeeper Sage Stephens, 33, for the first time. Attackers Evidence Makgopa (Orlando Pirates), Mihlali Mayambela of Aris Limassol (Cyprus) and defender Siyabonga Ngezana of FCSB (Romania) made a return.

There was still no place for Percy Tau in Bafana's latest squad as Broos believed the striker is not getting enough game time at Al Ahly in Egypt.

The Bafana coach again suggested Tau — who has spent much of the year absent because he was not playing in Egypt, for personal issues or because Broos wanted to protect him from criticism for performances — might have to change clubs to keep his place in Bafana.

“You know Percy Tau doesn't play any more. He's always on the bench,” Broos said.

“I said two months ago the environment at Al Ahly is not positive. They wanted to sell him. Then you have the critics on social media who were not happy with his performances at Bafana. 

“I don't think it's the right moment for Percy to be with Bafana but it doesn't mean he will never come back again.

“I hope he can change clubs. I hope he can be in a more positive environment and produce the performances we expect from him.”

Broos would like Bafana to wrap things up in their away game.

“We can qualify in Uganda if we win. If we don't, we'll have to do it against South Sudan. These two games are important and it's also important for me that I can't count on almost the same players,” Broos said.

“Everyone knows how we work, everyone knows what we ask from them. There's no adaptation and you create a friendship between players when you always have nearly the same. 

“Now we have a new player with Sage, but it's because Ricardo [Goss, of SuperSport United] is injured and we had to choose another one. He deserves to be there because he has had fantastic performances for Stellenbosch.

“I'm sure he will adapt quickly in this group. We'll try to win [in Kampala] so we come back with qualification so we have a relaxed game against South Sudan.”

Broos will have to find a player to replace injured talismanic creative attacker Themba Zwane. The Bafana coach insisted that even without Zwane he still has a good team.

“I have confidence in my team and in the past two years the performances were there. I know those guys are hungry and they want to be in Afcon in Morocco next year.

“If we have a good combination with the right mentality we've shown in games before, we'll qualify. That's for sure and I'm confident we're going to qualify.”