The Bafana Bafana of South Africa have lined up friendlies against against Cote d’Ivoire and Eswatini ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifier against the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Abbeylivenetwork.com reports.
SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao announced this on Friday that Bafana will commence their World Cup preparation with four warm up games.
“These matches are in support of Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos as he continues his preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations in the beginning of next year, and the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in November this year,” Monyepao said in a statement.
The two friendllies will take place next month.
The former African champions will take on Eswatini on October 13.
The friendly against Cote d’Ivoire will hold four days later.
Match venues are expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks, as Head coach Hugo Broos is expected to name a 23-man squad for the games this week also.
The South African senior national team has been drawn in Group C for the World Cup qualifiers, which begin in November this year and conclude in 2025, alongside Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Benin, Rwanda and Lesotho.
Bafana were last crowned African champions in 1996 under late coach Clive Barker and were runners-up in 1998 with coach Jomo Sono.
As far as the World Cup is concerned, with the exception of qualifying as hosts in 2010, Bafana last competed in a World Cup in 2002. They narrowly missed out on qualification for the global showpiece in Qatar in 2022.
The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
However, the Super Eagles are expected to take on Saudi Arabia in a friendly next month.
