Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos makes a U-turn on Themba Zwane's AFCON chances & insists Sipho Mbule is 'important for the national team'

Themba Zwane forced his way back to the Bafana Bafana national team after initially being overlooked by coach Hugo Broos, who felt the Mamelodi Sundowns captain was too old to make an impact.

Mshishi, as he is commonly referred to, played a crucial role in helping South Africa win a bronze medal in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, held in the Ivory Coast.

The now 36-year-old also played a crucial role in helping Mzansi qualify for the 2025 edition despite suffering an Achilles injury later in the campaign.

He has been in and out of action since then, but had already done enough to win Hugo Broos' heart owing to his exceptional displays. 

Patrick Maswanganyi, Relebohile Mofokeng, among others, have been tried in the number 10. role, but they have not given Broos what Zwane did.

It forced him to consider Sipho Mbule of Orlando Pirates, who has seemingly proved his worth for the national team.

Initially, coach Broos had stated he thought Zwane would not recover from his injury due to his age, but gave him a small chance to make the 2025 AFCON squad.

“You know this is not a surprise for me, at that age, with that injury he had, I was afraid it was the end of the career of Themba – it was not a little muscle injury, it was his Achilles, he worked very hard and I think now he’s paying the bill a bit,” he told the media.

“Before, Themba was never injured; it’s a bit ‘normal’ what’s happening to him.

"I think he’s fully recovered, but in the future, Sundowns has to be careful with him. At that age, after such an injury, you can’t ask a player to play every game," Broos continued, referring to the latest hamstring injury suffered by the creative attacker.

“Certainly, taking into account his age, they have to be careful with him in the future; otherwise, I’m afraid Themba will go from one injury to another, and I count on him. 

"I hope he will be good and that we can count on him in the next months, for AFCON and even for the World Cup," he concluded.

On Saturday, Sipho Mbule played a crucial role in South Africa's 3-1 win over Zambia's Chipolopolo. Mbule provided two assists and went on to be crowned the Man-of-the-Match in a friendly game that was staged at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Broos hopes he can have both Zwane and Mbule in Morocco as he works on challenging for the crown the country last won in 1996.

"Four years ago, when I made first call-up, Mbule was there, and immediately I saw the good player he was," the veteran coach told the media.

“The only problem with Mbule was that after that, there were some other things that were more important than football and I think he understands now that football is not only playing a game, no! The game is finished and you still have to live like a player, like a football player, but I think he understands now.

“So he becomes very important for us, and I told him, look, it’s up to you now, you get your second chance, there’s AFCON and there’s World Cup, it’s up to you if you want to go with us," Broos continued.,

“I would like to see performances and you see every time he is on the ball, we be dangerous. We didn’t use him enough in the first half, and you see that in our game.

“So Sipho has become a very important player for the national team. The other side of the matter is that if tomorrow something happens with him, we have a problem like we had a problem with Themba one year ago. So we find someone who can replace Themba, but I still hope that Themba plays games at Sundowns and again he will be on his level like we know him and I think we can be more stronger with two guys like Sipho and Themba.

“Again I hope in the next three weeks and if it’s not for the World Cup next year maybe we can go do with Themba and Sipho," he concluded. 

Zwane is now rushing against time to prove his fitness before being considered by coach Broos. The most important part is to ensure he doesn't suffer another setback.

Mbule is currently one of the key players at Bucs, and all he needs to do is remain consistent and avoid injuries that might end up costing him.