Bafana Bafana squad to face Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe

George Lebese (centre) could make his
Bafana Bafana debut

South Africa coach Pitso Mosimane has announced the squad that will take on the Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe in two friendly international matches later this month.

Bafana will face the Elephants in the Nelson Mandela Challenge on November 12. The match is set to take place at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Madiba’s province of birth, the Eastern Cape. Three days later Bafana Bafana will then clash with neighbours Zimbabwe in Harare.

Four players have received their first-ever call-ups to the squad for the two games. Siyabonga Nontshinga of Jomo Cosmos, Musa Bilankulu of Golden Arrows, Granwald Scott of Ajax Cape Town and George Lebese of Kaizer Chiefs have been rewarded for their early season form and will make their Bafana debuts should they get a chance to play.

Meanwhile, captain Steven Pienaar, goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs and midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi return from lengthy layoffs, while Tsepo Masilela and Teko Modise are also back after missing the ill-fated 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone.

Mosimane has said he views the two encounters as preparation for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations which will be held in South Africa after Bafana’s failure to qualify for next year’s showpiece in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Bafana Bafana squad

Goalkeepers: Moeneeb Josephs (Orlando Pirates), Wayne Sandilands (Mamelodi Sundowns

Captain Steven Pienaar back in the squad

Defenders: Morgan Gould (SuperSport United), Happy Jele (Orlando Pirates), Siboniso Gaxa (Lierse FC, Belgium), Tsepo Masilela (Getafe, Spain), Bongani Khumalo (Reading FC, England), Anele Ngcongca (Genk, Belgium), Siyabonga Sangweni (Orlando Pirates), Punch Masenamela (Mamelodi Sundowns), Musa Bilankulu (Golden Arrows), Bevan Fransman (Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel

Midfielders: Daylon Claasen (Lierse FC, Belgium), Hlompho Kekana (Mamelodi Sundowns), Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs), Oupa Manyisa (Orlando Pirates), Thanduyise Khuboni (Golden Arrows), Reneilwe Letsholonyane (Kaizer Chiefs), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace, England), Teko Modise (Mamelodi Sundowns), Granwald Scott (Ajax Cape Town), George Lebese (Kaizer Chiefs), George Maluleka (Ajax Cape Town), Steven Pienaar (Tottenham Hotspur, England)

Strikers: Kermit Erasmus (SuperSport United), Siyabonga Nontshinga (Jomo Cosmos), Katlego Mphela (Mamelodi Sundowns) and Bradley Grobler (Goztepe, Turkey)