The Union's Olwethu Makhanya surprisingly makes South Africa's World Cup team
Makhanya has never played for South Africa's team, but his time with the Union earned him this chance. Plus, the Union's Andrew Rick joins the U.S. World Cup team as a practice squad goalkeeper.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Union centerback Olwethu Makhanya was named to South Africa’s World Cup team on Wednesday, a remarkable achievement for a player who was shut out of his country’s squad through most of his rise in Chester.
The 22-year-old mostly was unknown when he arrived at Subaru Park in 2023, and then-manager Jim Curtin kept him on the bench throughout that year and 2024. When Bradley Carnell arrived, he put his faith in a fellow South African, and Makhanya repaid it. He was so good in 2025 that it was a surprise to some observers that he wasn’t a MLS Defender of the Year finalist, as Jakob Glesnes and Kai Wagner beat him to the list.
Alas, that did not raise his profile for South Africa’s national team. Bafana Bafana manager Hugo Broos has taken a dim view of MLS throughout his tenure, and it’s widely believed that the nation’s soccer governing body does, too. To win their affection, players had to be in one of Europe’s big leagues or South Africa’s domestic circuit.
That drew repeated criticism from now-fired Union manager Carnell, who played 40 games for South Africa — including at the 2002 World Cup.
Makhanya, the Chicago Fire’s Mbekezeli Mbokazi (who also made the World Cup team), and Minnesota United’s Bongi Hlongwane (who didn’t) finally forced the issue over the last year and a half. Yet this is the first South Africa squad Makhanya has made. The closest he had come before was earlier this spring, when he was on the preliminary list for the March roster but didn’t make the cut.
So it was a bit of a surprise when he made Broos’ 32-player World Cup preliminary list last week, and an even bigger surprise when he made the 26-man tournament roster.
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The Union didn’t have a chance to send Makhanya off properly. He was suspended from last Sunday’s game at Inter Miami because of yellow card accumulation and left for South Africa’s training camp before being named to the tournament squad.
Nor did the club’s announcement of Makhanya making the squad include remarks from team officials — though the news of Carnell’s firing broke just minutes later.
Now that Makhanya has made it, there’s a possibility that he beats Haiti’s Danley Jean Jacques to becoming the first active Union player to play in a World Cup. South Africa plays cohost Mexico in the tournament’s opening game on June 11 at the legendary Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Haiti’s opener against Scotland is two days later in Foxborough, Mass.
- Thursday, June 11: vs. Mexico in Mexico City, 3 p.m. (Fox 29, Telemundo 62, Tubi, Peacock)
- Thursday, June 18: vs. Czechia in Atlanta, noon (Fox 29, Telemundo 62, Peacock)
- Wednesday, June 24: vs. South Korea in Monterrey, 9 p.m. (FS1, Universo, Peacock)
Union goalkeeper Andrew Rick joins USMNT camp
The U.S. men’s soccer team began its pre-World Cup training camp on Wednesday at the national training center in suburban Atlanta, with 25 of the 26 players present.
The absentee was centerback Chris Richards, who stayed with his club, England’s Crystal Palace, for the Europa Conference League final on that day.
Richards was on the bench for the Eagles’ 1-0 win, which was unsurprising, given his injured left ankle ligaments. But he looked pretty healthy as he ran around celebrating with his teammates after the final whistle.
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Richards is expected to be fine for the World Cup. The plan is for him to travel to U.S. camp on Thursday and be in attendance at Friday’s practice.
Also Wednesday, U.S. Soccer confirmed that the Union’s Andrew Rick is one of two goalkeepers who’ve been invited on the World Cup ride as practice squad players. Highly touted prospect Diego Kochen of Spanish superpower FC Barcelona is the other.
Both 20-year-olds will be with the team for the tournament run.
Rick has played 29 games for the Union’s first team and 53 for the reserve squad since turning pro in 2023. He has grown into a steady backup for Andre Blake, the best the team has had since Matt Freese’s departure, and has also played for U.S. youth national teams.
» READ MORE: Why it’s OK that we didn’t learn much from the U.S. World Cup roster reveal
(Coincidentally, Rick now gets to share the U.S. practice fields with Freese, who could be the World Cup starter.)
Kochen grew up in Miami and joined Barcelona’s famed “La Masia” academy at age 13 in 2019. His parents moved to Spain for work the year before. He has played for U.S. youth teams from under-15 to under-23 levels and was invited to the senior squad twice in 2024.
Though Kochen has yet to play at a youth World Cup, it’s not entirely his fault. He was set to be the starter at last year’s under-20 tournament, but Barcelona pulled him out when a first-team player got injured.
The U.S. will be at the national training center until Saturday, when it leaves for Charlotte, N.C., to play Sunday game against African power Senegal (3:30 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62). Then it will be back to Atlanta until June 4, when the team will head to Chicago for the final World Cup tuneup against Germany on June 6 (2:30 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62).
From there, it will be off to Irvine, Calif., which will serve as the team’s World Cup base camp site through at least the group stage.
Nine nations will compete in five group stage matches this summer, plus two more in a knockout game on July 4. Here’s what you need to know about those countries — and what those fans need to know about Philly. Click here for more.
