The South African Football Association have announced the official 25-man squad set to face Guinea Bissau and Angola in international friendly encounters this month and the likes of Thabo Matlaba, Mpho Makola and May Mahlangu were amongst the players who have been excluded from the Bafana Bafana squad this time.
Bafana will lock horns with Guinea and Angola on March 25 and 28 respectively, as they look to prepare for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, CHAN and the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers this year.
Matlaba, Makola, Mahlangu, Clayton Daniels, Brighton Mhlongo, Ayanda Patosi, Daine Klate, Asavela Mbekile, Eleazar Rodgers, Sibusiso Vilakazi and Thuso Phala were included in the previous 25-man squad when Bafana faced Senegal in their second preliminary 2018 World Cup qualifying fixture, however, were left out of the team for the upcoming international friendlies.
Ajax' Coetzee and SuperSport United's Daniels and Grobler are all nursing injuries, and indications are that they were left out of the squad due to that reason.
Despite it being friendly encounters, Bafana will look to go in all guns blazing when they face their African rivals, as they aim to continue their winning momentum after their 2-1 victory over Senegal in November last year.
As reported yesterday on Soccer Laduma, SAFA are yet to appoint a new head coach at the helm of the national team, however, assistant coach Owen Da Gama could be set to oversee the team's bench in the upcoming international friendly encounters.
