Hugo Broos reveals what he told Orlando Pirates' Sipho Mbule after Bafana Bafana qualified for World Cup

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has revealed what he told Orlando Pirates' midfielder Sipho Mbule after South Africa sealed a place in the 2026 World Cup finals.

Broos has also stated that the decision to call up the former Mamelodi Sundowns star was as a result of deep conversation with his assistant.

“Helman [Mkhalele, Broos’ assistant coach] and I talked about him and agreed we are going to give him another chance," Broos revealed.

“From the first minute when he returned [to the squad for last month’s World Cup games against Lesotho and Nigeria], I told him: ‘This is your second chance, and after this it is finished. I give you a chance, and if you don’t grab it with two hands, it’s done. It’s up to you. You will not be with Bafana as long as I am the coach [if you don’t take the chance] — and don’t forget there is Afcon in December and maybe the World Cup in July next year.’

“I asked him if he wanted to be there, and he said yes, so I asked him to show me how much he wants it. I never doubted his football qualities. Have you seen how he is fighting and running? If you add the fighting and running to natural talent, you can be happy," he added.

“I told him after the game, ‘You grabbed your chance, and congratulations for that.’”

The Belgian said that when Sundowns' captain, Themba Zwane, was injured, Pirates' Patrick Maswanganyi was on top of their list as an ideal replacement. But they also talked about Mbule.

“Sipho was with us from the first day I was here, and immediately I saw he was a good player. But he had interests other than football, and after a few times, I stopped calling him,” Broos stated.

“When you look at his career, he played for Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, and those are big teams. When we were looking for a replacement for Themba Zwane, we tried Patrick Maswanganyi, and then we talked about him. He had a good moment at Sekhukhune United, but his performances again went down.”

The Sea Robber was given his second chance with the national side when Maswanganyi was injured just before the qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria in September.

He went on to feature for the four qualifiers - against Lesotho, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Rwanda - as Bafana hunted for points that took them to the global showpiece.

And this showed Broos' growing trust in the ability of the Harmony Academy product.

Although his move to Pirates was received with scepticism, Mbule looks like a determined player ready to redeem himself, rediscover his top form and silence doubters.

Under Abdeslam Ouaddou, he has established himself as a key first-teamer, and it is his performance with Bucs that propelled him to the Bafana stage again.

Now, the challenge for Mbule is simple: keep performing at his peak and be part of the future Bafana set-up ahead of AFCON and the World Cup finals.