Orlando Pirates players will once again be at the heart of the action in the upcoming set of Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers.
A total of eight Buccaneers have received call-ups ahead of the November international break, headlined by the final two rounds of fixtures in the race for spots in the continental showpiece held in Morocco next year.
Three nations will have some representation from the current Bucs setup, following squad announcements made by the respective national coaches of Angola, Namibia and South Africa over the past week. Bafana Bafana leads the call-ups with six players from the Pirates squad named in coach Hugo Broos’s 23-man lineup.
In among them is in-form striker Evidence Makgopa who makes a return to the squad, having last featured during the previous AFCON tournament earlier in the year.
The 24-year-old strengthened his cause with a match-winning strike in club colours earlier in the week, taking his goal tally for the season to six across competitions.He is one of three Pirates forwards named in the squad, with Patrick Maswanganyi and Relebohile Mofokeng also making the cut after featuring throughout the ongoing qualifiers.
Goalkeeper Sipho Chaine is also retained alongside defender Nkosinathi Sibisi, while midfielder Thalente Mbatha returns after pulling out of the previous squad through injury.South Africa are currently second in Group K and travel to Uganda on Friday, 15 November for a top-of-the-table battle at Mandela National Stadium in Kampala.
They round up their qualifiers by welcoming South Sudan to Cape Town the following Tuesday. For Angola, attacking midfielder Gilberto is the sole Bucs player in the squad named by Pedro Gonçalves earlier in the week. This is after returning to the fold during the Palancas Negras’ back-to-back victories against Niger in October when he made late cameos in each of the two fixtures.
The wins helped them book their spot in the showpiece event, and they will be looking to maintain their perfect record as they host Ghana before departing for their final clash against Sudan.
Namibia meanwhile have included the experienced Deon Hotto ahead of dead-rubber clashes against Cameroon and Kenya. The Brave Warriors dropped out of the race for places in Morocco after losing to Zimbabwe home and away with both games played at Orlando Stadium.
With only pride to play for in the upcoming fixtures, the Bucs stalwart will be one their key players as they also look to avoid finishing at the bottom of Group J.
He will be among the first on display when his side hosts the Indomitable Lions in their adopted home in Soweto on Wednesday before jetting off for their closing fixture against the Harambee Stars.
