Photo Credit - South African Football Association
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has revealed his decision to include striker Percy Tau is the final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin.
The Bafana coach named a 37-member preliminary squad a week ago but on Thursday he whittled the squad down by naming his final squad. Among the surprise inclusion is Tau, who formerly played for African champions Al Ahly before moving to Qatar Stars League side Qatar SC.
Tau has not played for Bafana since August 2024, but explaining his decision to hand him a recall, the Belgian coach attributed it to his game time at new club Qatar SC.
“The team [Al Ahly] he [Tau] was at was a fantastic club to play. But you have to play. I have always had the feeling that he was not at the right place,” said Broos as quoted by FARPost. “It’s good to have Tau after a long time of not playing with us. At his previous club, he hardly played. The more games, the fewer games Percy played. You know, this is not good for a player who doesn’t play.
“I repeat it for the 20th time: players need to play so that when they come to Bafana, the level and intensity are higher. So, if you don’t play for three or four weeks, you’re not ready. You can be Percy Tau or another big-name player, but you have to play.
“Now, he is playing again with his new team in Qatar, and I’m very happy about it. I think everybody agrees with me if I say Percy Tau is a very good player. He can help us to qualify for the World Cup.”
South Africa will host Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo, on March 21, and then travel to Cote d’Ivoire to face Benin on March 25. The Beninese will host Bafana in Ivory Coast after their home grounds were deemed unsuitable for international matches.
Bafana will report for residential camp on Monday, March 17, and then travel to Polokwane on the same day. After hosting Lesotho, Broos and his charges will travel to Abidjan the next day on a charter flight to face Benin and return to South Africa on March 26.
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