🇿🇦 South Africa

Hugo Broos sets South Africa up in a 4-2-3-1 that prioritises defensive compactness before unleashing quick transitions. Teboho Mokoena and Jayden Adams form a double pivot that shields the back four, while Themba Zwane operates in the hole behind a striker. Oswin Appollis offers direct width on the left, and Lyle Foster provides a physical focal point up front when fit. The press is selective rather than high-intensity.

Watch Teboho Mokoena for the engine-room excellence — a box-to-box midfielder whose driving runs and long-range shooting made him the heartbeat of Bafana Bafana's 2023 AFCON campaign. Ronwen Williams became a continental hero by saving three penalties in the AFCON semi-final shootout against DR Congo. And Themba Zwane, the veteran Sundowns playmaker, remains the side's most creative threat when space opens up behind opposition midfields.

Ronwen Williams is genuinely world-class in goal after his AFCON shootout heroics. The Mamelodi Sundowns contingent — Mokoena, Zwane, Mudau and others — brings genuine club chemistry. Relebohile Mofokeng's explosive pace and directness gives South Africa a matchday weapon capable of unsettling any defence on the counter.

Depth in central midfield is thin beyond Mokoena — Thalente Mbatha and Yaya Sithole are unproven at this level. The striking options are fragile: Lyle Foster has battled serious mental health challenges and injury disruptions at Burnley, and Evidence Makgopa and Iqraam Rayners have yet to prove themselves consistently against top international defences.