Bafana Bafana will host Ghana at Dobsonville Stadium on Tuesday in their final friendly before flying to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco (December 21 - January 18).
South Africa head coach Hugo Broos will be without several European-based players, who are set to fly to Morocco to join the team without touching down in South Africa first.
Lyle Foster, Shandre Campbell and Sphephelo Sithole are likely to be unavailable, with FIFA having changed the date players were due to be released for AFCON duty from Dec. 8 to Dec. 15.
The starting lineup is likely to have a strong Mamelodi Sundowns contingent, with Orlando Pirates players' fitness managed carefully following their 1-0 Carling Knockout win over Marumo Gallants on Dec. 6. However, Pirates are so well-represented in the squad that it is likely that they, too, will have several faces in the starting XI.
Broos has been dealing with backlash over his public dressing down of Mbekezeli Mbokazi. While he is also still fielding questions on the exclusion of Wydad Casablanca's Thembinkosi Lorch from his squad, that is an issue he has grown all too accustomed to and stuck to his guns on throughout.
Still, Broos would surely take his position - preparing for an AFCON tournament with a squad made up predominantly of locally-based players who are at his camp in Pretoria - over the predicaments of many of his rivals with mostly European-based squads.
"It's a little problem; it's not a big problem, and I'm happy to be the coach of a country where the majority of the players are local players - because if otherwise, you can't start the camp; you have to start it next week. So I don't think that my colleagues in the other countries will be so happy for the moment," Broos told the media.
Worse still is the situation faced by Ghana, who will not be participating in the AFCON. At least the Black Stars made up for it by qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, with key players unavailable, the side that walks out in Dobsonville is unlikely to bear much resemblance to the lineup representing them in June.
Key details
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 16:00 CAT (14:00 GMT)
Venue: Dobsonville Stadium, Soweto, Johannesburg
How to watch: The match will be televised live on SABC 2 and available for streaming on SABC Plus
Team news
Ghana will be coached by Kassim Mingle rather than usual head coach Otto Addo for this fixture and have named a squad of entirely uncapped players.
Bafana Bafana may not have their full contingent available. However, they head into this game as significant favourites due to the high level of the Betway Premiership and a few overseas-based players who are likely to be ready to feature.
One key topic of debate is who will fill the no.10 role behind the striker. Broos has utilised Sipho Mbule in this role, but it is not the position he has played in for most of his professional career. His Orlando Pirates teammate, Relebohile Mofokeng, is back in form after a period on the sidelines after an injury picked up in August's MTN8 semi-final against Mamelodi Sundowns.
With Sundowns' Themba Zwane unavailable due to injury, there had been pressure on Broos to select Thembinkosi Lorch. However, Broos has tended to favour younger players throughout his tenure and while an exception was eventually made for Zwane after some hesitation in the beginning of his stint in charge, Lorch has not been as fortunate.
Expected lineups
South Africa
LB Aubrey Modiba | CB Mbekezeli Mbokazi | CB Tylon Smith | RB Khuliso Mudau
CM Bathusi Aubaas | CM Teboho Mokoena
LW Oswin Appollis | AM Relebohile Mofokeng | RW Mohau Nkota
Ghana
GK Felix Kyei
LB Isaac Afful | CB Ebenezer Abban | CB Razak Simpson | RB Kamaradini Mamudu
CM Salim Adams | CM Nana Kusi Asante | CM Etse Dogli
LW Emmanuel Abban | ST Samuel Attah Kumi | RW Kelvin Nkrumah