Overview

• Bafana Bafana host Zimbabwe on Friday at Moses Mabhida Stadium before facing Rwanda on Tuesday at Mbombela Stadium.
• Hugo Broos welcomed back Sithole and Khuliso Mudau, saying both are important to the squad after recent absences.
• Sithole said he feared the injury might end his career and described the layoff as mentally draining.
• He fractured his tibia and fibula against South Sudan last year, missed the rest of a loan at Gil Vicente, then regained fitness at Tondela and scored in his last club game.
• Two victories this window are widely framed as likely to clinch a 2026 World Cup place for South Africa, ending a 24-year qualification drought.