Veli Mothwa to start as Hugo Broos reveals Bafana Bafana approach

The two Southern African neighbours square off at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, having completed their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaigns due to the suspensions of Zimbabwe and Kenya from their respective groups. 

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Broos revealed that an agreement was struck in the goalkeeping department that would see Mothwa start against the Brave Warriors, before captain Ronwen Williams returns against DR Congo on Tuesday, as the coach looks to give all 23 selected players a run.

"For these two games, I don't want to have the team. For me, it's important to give play time to every player – from number one, except the keeper," said Broos during his pre-match press conference on Friday.

"So we agreed that Veli will play [on Saturday], that Ricardo [Goss] will be second, and for the game on Tuesday, Ronwen will play and Ricardo will be the second.

"For next month [against] Eswatini, Ricardo will play and Veli will be the second, and [against] Ivory Coast, Ronwen will play again and Veli will be the second – that's what we agreed. Apart from that, all the [outfield] players will have play time, this is for sure. 

"So, I will not do it like, I think, last year with Botswana and – I don't know [Sierra Leone], when we were two totally different teams, totally different 11 players on the pitch. This will not be the case now, but everyone will have their play time."

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Bafana are unbeaten in their last eight matches over a period of nearly 18 months, when they last lost 2-1 to Morocco in the opening game of the AFCON qualifiers. Broos says the intention in the two international friendlies against Namibia and DR Congo is to continue with the winning momentum.

"Our goals for the next two games are, firstly, winning them both. We are a little bit in a winning mood over the last seven or eight months, so we don't want to change that," he added.

"But, in these two games maybe the performance is more important. As we said, we will give play time to every player. It's two tough opponents with different styles, and that was something we looked for, so I'm very happy that we can play these two games."

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