Coach weighs experience against current form in final squad selection

SOUTH Africa’s U23 coach Raymond Mdaka admits picking his final squad was a headache.

Mdaka said the country has enough talent to make selection difficult, especially with many players fighting for limited places.

The coach has named his squad for the two matches against Madagascar on 14 and 17 November 2026.

But he said choosing the final 23 wasn’t simple.

Game time, injuries, player quality and familiarity all had to be considered before the technical team made their final decision.

“With the kind of talent that we have, we always have a challenge. It will always be difficult to come up with your 23, but I think the preliminary squad that we always put together helps us to juggle around,” Mdaka said.

The coach said the preliminary squad gave the technical team a bigger pool to work with before cutting it down.

He said they tried to reward players who are getting regular minutes at club level.

But that wasn’t the only thing they looked at.

“We’ll always try to find players who are playing regularly. Players who have got minutes, and others who have got injured, but at the same time, that pool is helping us to check around,” he said.

Mdaka admitted that some players might not have enough club minutes to easily justify their place.

But he said the technical team also had to trust players they know and understand.

“Some of them, you will see that they might not be getting those minutes that would justify their selection, but at the same time, it’s better sometimes to stay with what you know better than something that you don’t know. So, we play around that way,” he said.

For Mdaka, the challenge isn’t only about picking the best players. It’s also about finding the right balance, backing trusted players and building a team strong enough to compete against Madagascar.

The two matches will give his squad a chance to prove why they were selected.