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Tashreeq Matthews, Evidence Makhopa, Sibongiseni Mthethwa & Khulumani Ndamane, GFX Goal
Steve Blues

The Premier Soccer League's Best XI of the 2025/26 season so far: Iqraam Rayners and Thabiso Monyane drop out

GOAL digs deep into the stats and numbers to find which players have performed the best in their positions in the league season so far, as we reach the halfway stage of the campaign for most of the Premier Soccer League teams. It is safe to say, though, that there are a few surprises in this list as several fan favourites miss out.

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, Evidence Makgopa is the best-performing striker in the league if you look at overall numbers and not just goals.

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)

    When we first did this list in early October, the 28-year-old topped both the goalkeeper and overall player stats with an average performance rating of 7.76.

    His levels have dropped slightly to 7.57, but that is still enough to outstrip TS Galaxy's Eliezer Tape (7.47) and Durban City's Darren Keet (7.31). 

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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)

    Our early-season pair of Polokwane City's Mpho Mvundlela (7.47) and TS Galaxy's Khulumani Ndamane (7.43) are still 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.   

  • Thabang Matuludi Polokwane CityBackpagepix

    Full-backs - Deon Hotto (Orlando Pirates) and Thabang Matuludi (Polokwane City)

    The industrious and much-loved Deon Hotto is still the highest rated in his position (7.69), reflecting the consistency with which the 35-year-old left back operates for the Buccaneers. 

    His Team of the Season partnership with Thabiso Monyane has been broken, though, as the Chiefs man has fallen to seventh on the list with a 7.31 average performance rating. His position has been taken by Polokwane City's Thabang Matuludi (7.74), who is the best-performing full-back in the league. 

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  • Athini Jodwana Durban City and Sibongiseni Mthethwa Kaizer Chiefs GFXBackpagepix

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

    Another pair who have held onto their Team of the Season places. Boasting an average 7.37 match rating, Jodwana has established himself as a key player for City 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.

    Ox, 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 7.35 match rating, but his dreams of AFCON were dashed after Hugo Broos cut him from the final squad.  

  • 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 four goals and three assists in 14 matches, meaning Usuthu's creative force is one of the only players from our October side who has improved their rating (from 7.28 to 7.35).

    Nobody else in this position has even got close to Ekstein's numbers with Polokwane's Puleng Marema (7.06) and Richards Bay's Lindokuhle Zikhali (7.06) his nearest challengers.   

  • Bonginkosi Dlamini Polokwane City and Tashreeq Matthews Mamelodi Sundowns GFXBackpagepix

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

    Tashreeq Matthews' goals and assists might have dried up since late September, but the winger is trusted by Cardoso to put in a shift and stretch defences for his colleagues to exploit. Despite his goal contributions drying up, FOTMOB still have his average performance rating as 7.40, which makes him the top-performing winger in the country.

     On the other side, 29-year-old Polokwane City left winger Dlamini has also kept his place in the ratings Team of the Season, but it is a close-run thing. He has Golden Arrows' Siyanda Mthanti (7.23) and TS Galaxy's Puso Dithejane (7.20) breathing down his neck.  

  • Evidence Makgopa, Orlando PiratesBackpage

    Striker - Evidence Makgopa (Orlando Pirates)

    Despite a slow start to the season and finding himself recently being used as an impact player from the bench, the 25-year-old has usurped Iqraam Rayners from both this list and the Bafana Bafana AFCON squad. 

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