RECENT major trophy winners Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates dominated the South Africa 2026 World Cup squad named in Pretoria on Wednesday with eight players each.
Sundowns won the CAF Champions League a second time last Sunday, defeating Moroccan rivals FAR Rabat 2-1 on aggregate in the final.
A day earlier, Pirates were crowned South African Premiership champions for the first time since 2012, ending a run of eight consecutive league titles by Sundowns.
A surprise omission was Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen, whose outstanding form helped his club finish third behind Pirates and Sundowns in the Premiership.
He was set to be called up for World Cup warm-up matches against Panama two months ago, only to be sidelined by appendix surgery.
Belgian coach Hugo Broos included 19 local players in his 26-man squad, five play in Europe and two in the United States.
Among the 10 African qualifiers, Egypt are the only other nation that will rely largely on home-based stars. There were 18 in a preliminary squad of 27 chosen by coach Hossam Hassan.
Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams will captain South Africa, who face co-hosts Mexico in the World Cup opener on June 11, then tackle the Czech Republic and South Korea.
Group winners and runners-up advance to the round of 32 in a tournament boasting a record 48 teams. Eight of the 12 third-placed countries also qualify for the knockout phase.
South Africa are seeking to progress beyond the first round for the first time in four attempts after early exits from the 1998 and 2002 tournaments as qualifiers and the 2010 edition as hosts.
While accepting that Bafana Bafana will be the outsiders in Group A, Broos is confident his team can create history and secure a second-round slot.
“Anything is possible in football and every World Cup includes upsets. Who thought Morocco would reach the semi-finals at the last tournament?”
The 2026 World Cup will mark the end of the football career of 74-year-old Broos, a defender in the Belgium squad that finished fourth at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
“There cannot be a greater ending to my time as a footballer and a coach than going to a World Cup. I am in charge of a squad of fighters. Who knows what we may achieve?”
