Bafana Bafana received a big fitness boost as they arrived in Mexico City for their World Cup opener. The South African team will play the host country, Mexico, on Thursday. The match will take place at the Azteca Stadium.
Aubrey Modiba and defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi are fit and cleared to play. Coach Hugo Broos expects the Mexican players to give the South African defence a lot of headaches.
The players were in high spirits during Tuesday's training session at the Pachuca University of Football. Bafana Bafana finished their preparations in Pachuca City. They will practice at the match venue on Wednesday.
Modiba recently won the CAF Champions League with Mamelodi Sundowns. He was a doubt for this first match because of an injury. The injury started after his last club game in Rabat.
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Broos selected him anyway, hoping he would recover. Modiba only did light training when the team first arrived in Pachuca City. Broos even chose Kaizer Chiefs left-back Brad Cross as cover. But Modiba joined full training on Tuesday.
Mbokazi is now an important player for Bafana Bafana. He could have missed the game after getting a straight red card for violent conduct against Zimbabwe in the qualifiers.
Unconfirmed reports from the camp say the former Orlando Pirates star is free to play. Mbokazi now plays for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer in the USA. This news will please Broos, who was worried about finding a new central defence partnership.
Broos said the team has the support of the nation. They felt it last week when they started preparations in South Africa.
Broos said: "This is something we have to remember on Thursday when the game starts, that we are playing for our nation. We are playing for all those people who believe in us."
