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NEWS: ‘He has the potential’ – Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos impressed by Patrick Maswanganyi in Themba Zwane’s absence

Bafana Bafana boss Hugo Broos says Patrick “Tito” Maswanganyi, earmarked as Themba Zwane’s replacement in the long run, has the potential to become a very important player for South Africa.

Patrick Maswanganyi of South Africa celebrates his goal during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers game between South Africa and South Sudan at Cape Town Stadium on 19 November 2024.
Image: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

Bafana Bafana boss Hugo Broos says Patrick “Tito” Maswanganyi, earmarked as Themba Zwane’s replacement in the long run, has the potential to become a very important player for South Africa.

Two women looking excitedly at cellphone

The Orlando Pirates star, Maswanganyi, is one of the players who left coach Broos highly impressed during the last round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers.

Tito scored two goals in as many matches as South Africa defeated Uganda (2-0) on Friday and South Sudan (3-0) on Tuesday to finish Group K at the summit with 14 points from six outings.

Bafana, who missed Zwane due to an injury, had already qualified for next year’s Afcon before the games, but Broos wanted to finish on top of the group and boost their Fifa rankings.

Apart from the two goals, Maswanganyi was exceptional from the bench against Uganda and started against South Sudan.

“I’m very happy with the performance of Patrick,” Broos told media after the game at Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday.

“I’ve said it already before, we need to look for someone who can replace Themba, and unfortunately, we had to do it earlier because Themba should be here with us now.

“Because I know how important he is for the team but what Patrick has shown today makes me happy,” Broos said.

“It’s not really what we want but I’ve asked to play differently than at Pirates. So, it’s a little bit (difficult) for him to adapt to the way we play.

“He has the potential, otherwise we shouldn’t select him.”

Broos believes the goals will boost the player’s confidence after he appeared to be struggling with that.

Before the two games, Maswanganyi had faced a lot of criticism, sometimes unnecessarily so, from fans.

But there was a lovely sight in Cape Town as thousands of supporters chanted “WeTito! WeTito! WeTito!” after the game.

“For the game today and on Friday he scored,” Broos said.

“That will certainly boost his confidence and I’m happy with his performance today, but he still has to improve.

“He still has to be more of the player who gives the passes and who is very important for us. I’m sure he can be, but he needs a little bit of time.

“Again today, he did what I asked and I’m happy with his performance.”

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