Hugo Broos a huge fan of Orlando Pirates striker Evidence Makgopa

The 22-year-old has looked sharp and useful since joining Pirates from Baroka FC in June 2022.

An interesting fact about Makgopa is that he made his professional debut for Baroka as a defender before switching to play as a striker.

Despite struggling with injuries at Pirates so far, which has also seen Makgopa miss the recent Bafana call-up to face Mozambique and Angola on 17 and 20 November respectively, national team coach Broos believes when fit, the Pirates striker will get back into his squad due to being unique and very talented.

"If Makgopa is playing he will be with us. He was always with us before yes, always," Broos stated at his squad announcement.

"And then he played in a team that was struggling to stay in the First Division and then they didn't succeed and now with the injury he didn't play for four months, so let's hope he will get back to the team," he added.

When asked why he rated Makgopa so highly, Broos explained: "He is a tall player, he is good with the head. He is technically not so good but can improve a lot and that's something I have to work on, but I can do it.

"As a Bafana coach, I don't have the time to do it, but I hope they can do it at the club.

"Working with the positioning in front of the goal, protecting the ball, asking the ball and all those things because he has the potential.

"He has a good profile but there is still a lot of work to do," Broos added.