Hugo Broos passes verdict on Kaizer Chiefs as he snubs Amakhosi players for Bafana Bafana's 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, sees a decline in Mamelodi Sundowns and lauds 'very good' Orlando Pirates

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos named his final squad for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Zimbabwe and Rwanda.
Eight Mamelodi Sundowns players made the cut, while Orlando Pirates contributed as many players to the South Africa national team.
Chiefs midfielder Mduduzi Shabalala and right-back Thabiso Monyane, who were initially selected in the preliminary squad, were dropped, leaving the Soweto giants with no player in the Bafana setup.
Coach Hugo Broos has explained his decisions in coming up with his squad and relates the choices to the clubs' form.

"We need a battle all season, and I hope this season is the one," Broos said on SABC Sport as per KickOff.
"But I see games, also for the big teams, where after the game, I saw this was not good football.  Okay, maybe the people will be angry at me, but yesterday at the Chiefs [vs AmaZulu match], Chiefs didn't play a good game. I'm sorry.
"What is a chance? A shot on goal is a chance? Okay, maybe I am different in how I evaluate games, but I can't say I saw a good game yesterday.  
"Even though it was against a team that is not [a big team] ... AmaZulu, but okay, I want to see more games where there is a fight, where it is difficult, where the top team can win and sometimes lose against one of these teams," added the Belgian.  
"That makes it better. So, I think the league is in the right direction. You don't see anymore the dominance of [Mamelodi] Sundowns. What it was last year, already by this time, you could say that Sundowns would be champions again.
"Now you can't tell. You see that [Orlando] Pirates are very good now. They also have a big pool of players, they can change and on the pitch, these things are good."

After avoiding defeat in their first five Premier Soccer League games and without conceding goals, Chiefs are now struggling for consistency.
Their bright start to the 2025/26 term even saw Monyane and Shabalala making it into Bafana's last camp in September when they faced Lesotho and Nigeria in World Cup qualifiers.
Not only Chiefs' South Africa internationals have lost their national team players, but Inacio Miguel and Flavio Silva are no longer being called by Angola and Guinea-Bissau, respectively.

Bafana players are expected to troop into camp after this weekend's games and should begin training on Monday.
In the minds of the players is how crucial the Zimbabwe and Rwanda games are, especially in the wake of FIFA docking South Africa points due to the Teboho Mokoena saga.