The final Bafana squad for the qualifier has been revealed. See who made the list below.
Coach David Notoane of the South African U23 team has chosen his team for the next CAF U23 Championship qualifier against Togo.
Later this month, the two nations will square off in a two-legged second round qualifier, and Notoane has put together a formidable team with players from the region.
However, Notoane is optimistic that all players will be accessible because the games do not fall on FIFA dates as they start their quest to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.
Because we got a bye when Togo played Mauritania and had no official exhibition games during the last FIFA window, choosing this team has been particularly difficult. Now that other teams have previously played, they are aware of the state of their squads, Notoane told the SAFA website.
We had to put together a lineup that would be able to give us an advantage in the first leg, gain a victory first, try not to allow, and come away from Togo with a clean sheet, which would be very difficult in a hostile atmosphere with altitude also being a very significant issue to consider.
We had to strike a very good balance in order to ensure that we have a squad that is strong enough to compete and fresh enough to be able to deal with the conditions in West Africa, specifically in Togo. This is because [PSL] teams make certain players unavailable due to their busy schedules, and we also had to take into account the fact that some players will be required to honor their club commitments up until Wednesday. In order to choose the players, we communicated often with the PSL and the clubs to determine which players were available. Additionally, we asked for the relocation of a few games, particularly those in the ABC Motsepe League. These are some of the difficulties we overcame in order to choose the squad.
However, one is optimistic that the team we have assembled will be strong and competitive enough, and we should be able to leave Togo with something useful.
We even looked at the South African Under-20 team competing in the COSAFA tournament in Swaziland, where a handful of the youngsters have displayed extraordinary potential and skill. We are also thinking about choosing one or two of them as they are actively engaged in competition and active, giving us depth and options in the event that certain players are unavailable.
GOALKEEPERS:
Bontle MOLEFE of the Kaizer Chiefs, Lincoln VYVER of the Cape Town Spurs, and Olwethu MZIMELA (Amazulu)
DEFENDERS:
Khaya MFECANE of the Cape Town Spurs, Kamogelo MAHLANGU of the TS Galaxy, Zuko MDUNYELWA of Chippa United, Siyanda MSANI of Richards Bay, Keagan ALLEN of the Moroka Swallows, Kerwin PETERS of the All Stars, and Thabiso SESANE (All Stars)
MIDFIELDERS:
Oswin APPOLIS, Jayden ADAMS, Ethan BROOKS, Oswin ANDRIES, Sifiso MBIDANA, and Stellenbosch, South Africa’s Oswin ANDRIES (Pretoria Callies)
FORWARDS:
Azola MATROSE (Chippa United), Chumani BUTSAKA (Cape Town Spurs), Dan NDLOVU (Baroka), Cassius MAILULA (Mamelodi Sundowns), Mduduzi SHABALALA (Kaizer Chiefs), Antonio Van Wyk (Stellenbosch), Aphelele TETO (TS Galaxy)