Who are Bafana Bafana’s potential World Cup warm-up opponents: both ranked lower than Lesotho

[p]Bafana have never met either before in international competition, so if the fixtures come off, they will be the 97th and 98th national teams [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/south-africa/W2ijYvlr/"]South Africa[/a] have faced since readmission to international football.[/p][p]Broos revealed on 947 with Robert Marawa that they plan to face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nicaragua/6L9QjkfT/"]Nicaragua[/a] on May 29, without revealing a venue, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/puerto-rico/ncEL5pMi/"]Puerto Rico[/a] at their Mexican base camp in Pachuca.[/p][p]They will not be teams familiar to most South African fans, so here is a rundown of who they are.[/p][embed guid="0c4229f3-85c3-47b7-aaa5-7fc79d2b33f7" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8z-9Fu-R-I" social-type="youtube" /][h2][b]Nicaragua[/b][/h2][p][b]World ranking: [/b]131[/p][p][b]Coach: [/b]Juan Cruz Real[/p][p]Nicaragua have never been higher than 92 in the world rankings, which tells you the level we are talking about.[/p][p]They have a squad of mostly home-based players and none who feature in any major leagues in Europe.[/p][p]Their lead forward is former [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/venezuela/raj05RS9/"]Venezuela[/a] junior international [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/moreno-jaime/SnTwttL9/"]Jaime Moreno[/a], who currently plays for Finnish side [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/kups/nLBbqJDS/"]KuPS[/a], while experienced winger [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/barrera-juan/r7WyQK6g/"]Juan Barrera[/a] played in the lower divisions in Europe and generally captains the side.[/p][p]They finished bottom of their World Cup qualification pool with four points from a possible 18, but they did beat a very useful [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/honduras/fP8cJrsS/"]Honduras[/a] side [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/honduras-fP8cJrsS/nicaragua-6L9QjkfT/?mid=zF8sGkUF"]2-0[/a], a result that ultimately cost the latter a place at the global finals as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/haiti/nk4v10Z1/"]Haiti[/a] qualified instead.[/p][p]They played [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/russia/hrgrswHh/"]Russia[/a] in an away friendly in the March international window and lost [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/nicaragua-6L9QjkfT/russia-hrgrswHh/?mid=4xh8Aasn"]3-1[/a].[/p][embed guid="1f29fbf4-9b1c-4e93-9a7d-0741d9e833e9" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4Kf_7i0k3E" social-type="youtube" /][h2][b]Puerto Rico[/b][/h2][p][b]World ranking: [/b]156[/p][p][b]Coach: [/b]Jay Mims[/p][p]Another lowly ranked side who, much like Nicaragua, have never been higher than 97 on the list, and that was in March 2024. Put it this way, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/fiji/hW4TJi0B/"]Fiji[/a] and the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/solomon-islands/fF5OOS92/"]Solomon Islands[/a] are ranked ahead of them.[/p][p]This should be nothing more than a training exercise for Bafana, but it is minutes on the pitch and a chance to work on some tactical aspects.[/p][p]Puerto Rico have a large number of players in the lower leagues in the United States and a handful in the lower divisions in Spain, but no one who gets close to a top European league.[/p][p]They played [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a] in a friendly in October last year and lost [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/argentina-f9OppQjp/puerto-rico-ncEL5pMi/?mid=WKIcGGZo"]6-0[/a], but did play to a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/nicaragua-6L9QjkfT/puerto-rico-ncEL5pMi/?mid=zTZj1rq3"]1-1[/a] draw with Nicaragua in June 2025.[/p][p]They played two FIFA Series matches in the March window this year, claiming wins over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/guam/UggPnpcG/"]Guam[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/guam-UggPnpcG/puerto-rico-ncEL5pMi/?mid=2i4JKiYd"]4-0[/a]) and the U.S. Virgin Islands ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/puerto-rico-ncEL5pMi/united-states-virgin-islands-GYcRssUp/?mid=dUqI6vaL"]2-0[/a]), but both those sides are ranked outside the top 200 on the global list.[/p]