South Africa host Chipolopolo in Gqeberha as their only international in the FIFA window, with Broos wary of a heavy workload for his players at club level ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations that begins in Morocco on December 21.
“My first idea was to let the players from Sundowns and Pirates stay with their clubs because they have a very overloaded programme. But in the end, I changed my mind, because I want to win,” Broos told reporters in Johannesburg on Monday.
When FIFA awarded their 2-0 win over Lesotho in March as a 3-0 scoreline for the latter due to the fielding on ineligible Teboho Mokoena, Bafana dropped from ninth to 10th in the FIFA Rankings.
That might not sound like a steep fall, but with the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw coming up in December, it could yet prove crucial in the seedings.
“We are here in preparation for the friendly game on Saturday. But for me, friendly games don’t exist, every game we have to be focused, concentrated, and try to win. It will not be different this time. I want to win on Saturday, that’s all,” Broos said.
“It’s important for our ranking. We want to stay in the top 10 and even move back to ninth. I think the defeat to Lesotho made us drop to tenth now. And we are one month away from AFCON, it would not be a good thing to lose this game.
“So I will ask every player for focus and concentration like we had during the qualifiers, even if it’s not a qualifier.
“I will not accept that players treat this game like a little holiday. I want to win on Saturday.”
Broos has called Sekhukhune United midfielder Keletso Makgalwa and Orlando Pirates’ Masindi Nemtajela into the squad to have a closer look at them.
“The two guys who are here with us have made good performances for their clubs, and I think they deserve to be here. Now it’s up to them to prove they belong, that they are players for the future who can help us,” Broos said.
“It can be the near future, it can be later, but that’s why they are here. Their club performance is the most important thing, but this is a step higher, and it’s up to them to show that they can make that step.”