South Africa qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals as winners of Group C ahead of Nigeria, Benin, Lesotho, Rwanda and Zimbabwe and will use the games as part of their final preparations.
Broos’ team have been rewarded with a place in Group A at the quadrennial competition, alongside co-hosts Mexico, South Korea and one of the Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland, Denmark or North Macedonia.
The Bafana boss named a strong squad for this tie, with Themba Zwane, Thapelo Maseko and Jayden Adams making a return.
Iqraam Rayners was left out by Broos, and Sipho Chaine was dropped in favour of Sekhukhune United’s Renaldo Leaner.
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Speaking ahead of Friday’s clash, the Bafana boss laid down a marker to his players to cement their place in his final World Cup squad, with the next international just days before the start of the finals in June.
“(The players) mustn’t think that they’ll come here, have a nice camp and go back to their club,” Broos said.
“I will really observe every moment – how players behave, their attitude, the training load.
“That will then be important in my mind when I make my choice (for the final squad), this is more than just a camp.”
Panama, who beat Bafana 5-3 on penalties in their only other meeting at the 2005 Gold Cup after a 1-1 draw, secured their World Cup spot as winners of their CONCACAF Group A beating out Suriname, Guatemala and El Salvador to their final place.
They were unbeaten in their World Cup qualifiers, winning seven and drawing three of their 10 matches, scoring 19 goals and conceding just five.
They play England, Croatia and Ghana in their World Cup Group L.
Head coach Thomas Christiansen explained his side’s decision to face South Africa during the internatonal break to prepare for the Black Stars.
“The goal is to play against an African team,” Christiansen said on iDiski Times.
“There are constant similarities with Ghana to what we will find with South Africa, and that was the objective.
“By playing two games against them, we can also change our ideas, positions, and players, and that’s what we want.
“It also gives us the possibility of rotating a bit and giving minutes to others who perhaps haven’t seen any playing time with the national team.”
Bafana and Panama will play for the second time at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Tuesday.