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FIFA World Cup Trophy seen on the image above.
Bafana Bafana coach, Hugo Broos, will name his 26-man International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup squad next Wednesday, 27 May, in Pretoria.
The team will then play Nicaragua in a warm-up match two days later at the Orlando Amstel Arena in Soweto.
Bafana will also play Puerto Rico in Mexico before they kick off the tournament against the co-hosts in Mexico City on the 11th of June.
Meanwhile, Brazil have included 34-year-old striker, Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, in their squad for the World Cup.
He returns after an absence of three years due to an assortment of injuries.
Countdown | 23 days to the FIFA World Cup 2026.#FIFAWorldCup #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/BuwKZqkgN7
— SABC News (@SABCNews) May 19, 2026
Exciting times ahead for the Brazilians and their top goal-scorer, Neymar.
He makes his comeback after a prolonged absence due to a series of injuries that kept him out for much of the qualifying campaigns. Neymar will make his fourth World Cup appearance in search of his first title. Brazil’s head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, says they’ve monitored and evaluated Neymar’s performance throughout the year.
“We evaluated Neymar throughout the year and saw that in the final stretch, he played consistently and improved his physical condition. We believe he is an important player and will be a key player in this World Cup. He has the same role and the same responsibilities as the other 25 players; he has the possibility of playing, not playing, being on the bench, or coming in, in other words, he has the same responsibilities as the others,” says Ancelloti.
Meanwhile, there’s still uncertainty about whether Iran will participate in the World Cup. Iran’s national team arrived in Turkey in preparation for their planned trip to the U.S. for the World Cup, but the team is still waiting for their Visas to be issued. The squad is scheduled to move to their U.S. base at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, in early June. And Mexico has put 15000 pieces of football memorabilia on display in the build-up to soccer’s global spectacle.
Shirts from 90 national teams are among the items that are being showcased at the “Album Epico” exhibition.
The exhibition is open to the public and will run until August, welcoming city residents and international visitors throughout the World Cup. Football enthusiasts also lined up at the Bank of Mexico to try and get their hands on the new World Cup coins, seen as both collectables and symbols of national pride.
FOOTBALL FRIDAY | Nomsa Chabeli, Group Chief Executive Officer of the SABC, says the public broadcaster will be broadcasting the World Cup matches — and stresses how important it is that fans hear commentary in different languages. pic.twitter.com/sxEfxqmU6p
— SABC News (@SABCNews) May 15, 2026
The coins, which were released nationwide, commemorate World Cup host cities, including Mexico City and Monterrey, where Bafana will be playing matches.
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