Hugo Broos breaks silence on Brandon Petersen’s World Cup omission

by Chumasande Matiwane
Goalie Brandon Petersen will not being going to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos explained to soccer fans why he left Brandon Petersen out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup squad heading to Mexico.

Brandon Petersen shone for Kaizer Chiefs this season

Petersen had an excellent season with Kaizer Chiefs in the 2025/26 Betway Premiership campaign. The goalie would have been selected when Bafana Bafana played a friendly match against Panama at the end of March. But due to his injuries, he missed the opportunity.

The 31-year-old was named in Bafana’s preliminary World Cup squad. Still, in the end, Broos chose Orlando Pirates’ Sipho Chaine and Siwelele’s Ricardo Goss as back-ups to Bafana’s number one and captain Ronwen Williams.

Also see: Bafana Bafana World Cup squad announcement still awaits

Speaking to The Citizen, Broos said, “When we make a selection, there has to be a certain balance. Do we have height in our selection? Do we have players in good shape? And do we have players who are not with us for the first time? That is the reason Petersen is not with us.”

FIFA allows teams to take only 26 players to the World Cup. In that 26, each team needs to have three goalkeepers, and Broos had to choose between Goss, Chaine and Petersen.

Broos continued to say, “We only had one good training session on Tuesday, and that was it. I don’t know Brandon as a human being, so in two days, I can’t know how he will react to not playing. That made me choose not to take Brandon.”

Bafana Bafana’s next match against Nicaragua takes place today, 29 May 2026, at the Orlando Amstel Arena with kick-off time set at 18:00.

Also see: Bafana Bafana announces 32-man FIFA World Cup squad

Featured image: Supplied

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