Broos includes Rayners as he names Bafana preliminary squad for World Cup

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has included Mamelodi Sundowns striker Iqraam Rayners in his 32-player Bafana Bafana preliminary squad for 2026 Fifa World Cup.

The squad was released by the South African Football Association late on Thursday evening.

Rayners is the second-highest scorer in the Betway Premiership and the top South African with 12 goals, but has strangely been overlooked by Broos this year.

His absence from the line-up that disappointed in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco in December and January, raised eyebrows.

With centre-forward Lyle Foster blowing hot and cold for the national team and only scoring three goals in 24 Premier League games as Burnley were relegated in 2025-26, many pundits have called for Rayners’ inclusion for the World Cup.

Another notable inclusion is of unheralded 26-year-old defensive midfielder Brooklyn Poggenpoel of recently-crowned Nedbank Cup champions Durban City.

Kaizer Chiefs, who made a late charge for third place in the Premiership, have two of their in-form stars named in left-back Bradley Cross and midfielder Lebohang Maboe.

Another interesting name on the list is of Olwethu Makhanya, the 22-year-old former Stellenbosch FC centreback who has impressed in the junior national ranks and is now on the books of Philadelphia Union in the US’s Major League Soccer.

Veteran Sundowns playmaker Themba Zwane, 36, whose shoes Broos battled to fill during his injury absences late last year, is also named.

There was no place for Orlando Pirates product Mohau Nkota, who missed the close of the Saudi Pro League season for Al Ettifaq with injury and loss of form.

Sundowns have the joint-most players among the 32 with nine. Pirates, on the verge of unseating Downs as eight-time successive Premiership champions if they beat Orbit College in Mbombela on Saturday, also have nine.

Broos will name his final squad of between 23 and 26 players on Wednesday at the Union Buildings in Pretoria with President Cyril Ramaphosa present, two days before Bafana meet Nicaragua in a World Cup warm-up at Orlando Stadium next week Friday (6pm).

The deadline to submit the final squad to Fifa is June 1.

The South African squad departs for Mexico on May 31.

Bafana play the opening game of the 2026 World Cup against co-hosts Mexico at the Azteca in Mexico City on June 11.

Their remaining Group A games are against Czechia (Czech Republic) in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 18 and South Korea in Guadalupe, Mexico, on June 25.

Bafana are competing in their first World Cup since hosting the 2010 edition and first as qualifiers since Japan and South Korea in 2002. They have never progressed past the group stage.

Broos has overseen a revival of Bafana that culminated in their best Afcon finish (third place) in 24 years in Ivory Coast in 2024. The South Africans had a less convincing campaign in Morocco, though still more competitive than before Broos’s arrival, exiting in the last 16 against Cameroon.

Bafana are the lowest-ranked team in Group A but will hope the emergence of some talented young stars such as 20-year-old Chicago Fire centreback Mbekezeli Mbokazi can see the national team punch above their weight in North America.

The top two teams from 12 groups and eight best runners-up progress to the last-32 of Fifa’s first 48-team World Cup.

Bafana have played two World Cup warm-up matches this year, both against Panama in March, drawing 1-1 in Durban and losing 2-1 in Cape Town.

Bafana Bafana 2026 World Cup preliminary squad

Goalkeepers:

• Ronwen Williams (Mamelodi Sundowns)
• Ricardo Goss (Siwelele FC)
• Sipho Chaine (Orlando Pirates)
• Brandon Peterson (Kaizer Chiefs)

Defenders:

• Khuliso Mudau (Mamelodi Sundowns)
• Olwethu Makhanya (Philadelphia Union, US)
• Bradley Cross (Kaizer Chiefs)
• Thabiso Monyane (Kaizer Chiefs)
• Thabang Matuludi (Polokwane City)
• Nkosinathi Sibisi (Orlando Pirates)
• Aubrey Modiba (Mamelodi Sundowns)
• Khulumani Ndamane (Mamelodi Sundowns)
• Ime Okon (Hannover 96, Germany)
• Samukele Kabini (Molde FK, Norway)
• Mbekezeli Mbokazi (Chicago Fire, US)

Midfielders:

• Teboho Mokoena (Mamelodi Sundowns)
• Jayden Adams (Mamelodi Sundowns)
• Brooklyn Poggenpoel (Durban City)
• Lebohang Maboe (Kaizer Chiefs)
• Thalente Mbatha (Orlando Pirates)
• Sphephelo Sithole (CD Tondela, Portugal)

Forwards:

• Oswin Appollis (Orlando Pirates)
• Tshepang Moremi (Orlando Pirates)
• Evidence Makgopa (Orlando Pirates)
• Lyle Foster (Burnley, England)
• Iqraam Rayners (Mamelodi Sundowns)
• Relebohile Mofokeng (Orlando Pirates)
• Themba Zwane (Mamelodi Sundowns)
• Patrick Maswanganyi (Orlando Pirates)
• Kamogelo Sebelebele (Orlando Pirates)
• Thapelo Morena (Mamelodi Sundowns)
• Thapelo Maseko (Ael Limassol, Cyprus)

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