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Hotto, Dlamini, Rayners, Ekstein & Monyane - GFX 2025GOAL
Steve Blues

The Premier Soccer League's Best XI of the 2025/26 season so far - featuring players from Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns, AmaZulu, Polokwane City, TS Galaxy and Durban City

GOAL digs deep into the stats and numbers to find which players have performed the best in their positions in the nascent league season and it is safe to say there were some surprises we were not expecting across the pitch.

Putting together a Best XI can be a thankless task as fans can, and will, endlessly debate the pros and cons of their preferred players. And, depending on which club you support, will make choices that will bring howls of derision from supporters of other clubs, never mind your own fanbase.

Luckily, there is a solution to the endless debates, and that solution is cold, hard, infallible maths. 

While mathematics is not our strong suit, we have friends at FOTMOB who are very good at adding up numbers until you have a definitive answer to the question: Who is the best player in that position in the Premier Soccer League right now? 

Every match played in the league has a massive array of stats that are compiled, analysed and quantified for each player to produce a match rating out of 10 for every performance. Those ratings are then averaged out after every game for every player, which allows us to definitely say, for example, that according to the numbers, AmaZulu's Pule Ekstein is the best attacking midfielder in the PSL.

The GOAL Premier Soccer League's Best XI of the season so far was chosen on pure maths, but we did have to make one fundamental decision before doing all the adding up. This team is based on the 4-2-3-1 formation...

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  • Darren Johnson AmaZuluBackpagepix

    Goalkeeper - Darren Johnson (AmaZulu)

    The 28-year-old joined AmaZulu ahead of the 2025-26 season and has immediately set about repaying his transfer fee with a match rating average of 7.71 that is not only the highest match rating of any player in the league, but comfortably outstrips fellow goalkeepers Washington Arubi (7.51) and Ronwen Williams (7.45).  

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  • Mpho Mvundlela Polokwane City and Khulumani Ndamane TS Galaxy GFXBackpagepix

    Centre backs - Mpho Mvundlela (Polokwane City) and Khulumani Ndamane (TS Galaxy)

    When Rise and Shine bought Mpho Mvundlela from NFD mid-table side Pretoria Callies at the start of June, nobody (apart from maybe Polokwane's scouting department) thought he would be one of the finds of the season, averaging a match rating of 7.57. 

    It is, however, no surprise to find Khulumani Ndamane (7.53) in the heart of our PSL Best XI defence. Tim Sukazi must be licking his lips at all the zeroes being added to the 21-year-old's transfer fee.  

  • Deon Hotto Orlando Pirates and Thabiso Monyane Kaizer Chiefs GFXBackpagepix

    Fullbacks - Deon Hotto (Orlando Pirates) and Thabiso Monyane (Kaizer Chiefs)

    Orlando Pirates must be kicking themselves after letting Thabiso Monyane's contract run down so he could exit the club and join Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs on a free. If they had offered the 25-year-old a contract extension, they would have had the best fullback pairing in the league, as Deon Hotto is the highest rated left back (7.70) and Amakhosi's gain is the best rated right back (7.61).  

    Honorary mentions for Sundowns left-back Aubrey Modiba (7.54) and Sekhukhune United's Tsepo Matsimbi (7.42).

  • Athini Jodwana Durban City and Sibongiseni Mthethwa Kaizer Chiefs GFXBackpagepix

    Midfielders - Athini Jodwana (Durban City) and Sibongiseni Mthethwa (Kaizer Chiefs)

    Boasting an average 7.40 match rating, Jodwana has established himself as a key player for City under Gavin Hunt and if the former Chippa United player maintains his consistent displays, he could be in the running for the PSL Midfielder of the Season award at the end of the campaign.

    Mthethwa, on the other hand, has arguably been Chiefs' best player this season and his eye-catching displays have earned him several Man of the Match accolades. The robust defensive midfielder has an average 7.36 match rating as he hopes to catch Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos' eye ahead of the upcoming 2025 AFCON in Morocco.

  • Hendrick Ekstein of AmaZulu FCBackpagepix

    Attacking Midfielder - Pule Ekstein (AmaZulu)

    Hands up everybody who had a 34-year-old former Kaizer Chiefs cast off as the highest rated attacking midfielder on their PSL bingo card. Nobody? 

    Yet here we are after a return of two goals and two assists in nine matches, giving Usuthu's creative force a match rating average of 7.28, leaving Polokwane's Puleng Marema (7.22), Sekhukhune's Vusimuzi Mncube (7.06) and Chippa's Khaya Mfecane (7.01) trailing in his wake.   

  • Bonginkosi Dlamini Polokwane City and Tashreeq Matthews Mamelodi Sundowns GFXBackpagepix

    Wingers - Bonginkosi Dlamini (Polokwane City) and Tashreeq Matthews (Mamelodi Sundowns)

    Tashreeq Matthews has enjoyed a renaissance at Sundowns, racking up four goals and four assists despite not having played a full 90 minutes in the league yet this season.  What he does when he is on the pitch have earned him an average match rating of 7.52, making him the highest-ranked winger. 

    On the other side, 29-year-old Polokwane City winger Dlamini could also claim to be having a renaissance season as he has doubled his goal tally from the 2024/25 season already and earned an average match rating of 7.43.   

    Honorary mentions for TS Galaxy's Seluleko Mahlambi (7.40) and Kaizer Chiefs Glody Lilepo (7.38). 

  • Iqraam Rayners, Mamelodi Sundowns, August 2025Backpagepix

    Striker - Iqraam Rayners (Mamelodi Sundowns)

    We must admit we were surprised to find the former Stellenbosch man at the top of the list, as we thought Bradley Grobler's goals and match-winning performances would be enough. But this is maths, it does not care for the romance of a 37-year-old banging in goals for fun, it only looks at the underlying numbers. 

    So Sundowns' dead-eyed marksman tops the list with an average match rating of 7.49.  

    To add insult to injury for Grobler (7.34), he isn't even second on the list. That goes to Golden Arrows Junior Dion, who pips him with 7.35.