WATCH | Morena excited to return to Bafana for Afcon qualifiers
Mamelodi Sundowns utility player Thapelo Morena is excited to be back in the Bafana Bafana squad ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea later this month.
Morena was initially included in Bafana’s preliminary squad for the World Cup but suffered an injury before the tournament. Having recovered from that injury setback and playing week in and week out for Sundowns in the Betway Premiership in the absence of injured Khuliso Mudau, Morena was included in the final squad on Thursday by coach Pitso Mosimane.
Mamelodi Sundowns full back Thapelo Morena says he is happy to return to Bafana Bafana for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea later this month after missing out from the Fifa World Cup squad due to an injury.Video: @RealNevilleK pic.twitter.com/9B9RHRPyLk— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) September 18, 2026
“It’s a great feeling seeing my name on the list yesterday,” Morena said.
“Being back is one of the best things to me. I think the big thing that I have learnt is accepting what happened and focusing on the future because we don’t know what that holds for you.
“I’m trying to do things a bit differently, mostly in the gym and all that, and trying to see what went wrong and what I can fix in terms of situations that I had.
“Some of the situations were not like hamstring injuries, but it is something that I accepted going to focus on the future.”
Morena is expected to play a role when Sundowns face Al-Ahli Saudi in the Fifa Intercontinental Cup at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday at 3pm, where they will be looking to win and progress to the semifinal.
The next few months will be busy for Masandawana as they will be competing on many fronts — the Fifa Intercontinental Cup, MTN8 final, Super Cup and CAF Champions League ― and Morena said they will take it one game at a time.
“The most important thing is the team ― we have a culture here, and what we do is we take each game as it comes before focusing on other competitions,” he said.
“So, the most important one for now is the one we are going to play tomorrow.”