Mamelodi Sundowns players have been Bafana Bafana’s cornerstone since incumbent coach Hugo Broos arrived.
However, the Belgian has implied he is not a fan of selecting too many players from one team, hoping Bafana can prevail without the Brazilians stars against Tanzania and Mozambique as he bemoans that some of the Sundowns players are ageing.
Bafana host Tanzania in a friendly at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Friday (7.30pm), before welcoming Mozambique to the same venue for another friendly on Tuesday.
Sundowns’ involvement in the second leg of the CAF Champions League final, which they lost 3-1 to Egyptian side Pyramids in Cairo on Sunday, coupled with their participation in the forthcoming Club World Cup forced Broos to excuse their players for these two friendlies.
“I know the presence of Sundowns players in the national team has always been important,” Broos said.
“Why? Because those are players who are very experienced at the higher level, so they helped us a lot in the past but as you know, I am not a coach who always looks only at the top teams [for player selection] … I always look at other teams as well.
“Some of the Sundowns players are now 30 and older, so we also have to think about the future. We will do it without Sundowns players.
“Let’s hope we can find some other players too [from other teams] because having too many players from one club is not good; therefore it’s very interesting for me to see other players from other teams in these friendly games.”
Broos liked that Tanzania and Mozambique were at the 2024 Afcon in Ivory Coast, where Bafana won bronze, feeling they would give them the test they wanted.
“Both countries were at Afcon last year. Mozambique are even in a good position to qualify for the World Cup, so that means they’ll be good opponents.
“It’s a good opportunity for everyone to prove themselves, to show their qualities,” Broos said.
Tanzania are ranked 107th in the Fifa rankings, 51 places behind SA. Mozambique are ranked 96th in the world and 22nd by CAF. Bafana are ranked 10th on the continent, while Tanzania are ranked 24th.
Meanwhile, Orlando Pirates right-back Deano van Rooyen believes the experience the Buccaneers gained from participating in the CAF Champions League will come in handy for the national team in their two upcoming friendlies.
“We had a good season as Orlando Pirates and we gained a lot of experience in the Champions League, so now it is for us to help the country, using that experience,” Van Rooyen said.
Van Rooyen, 28, is part of the national team for the first time.
He had a decent campaign with Pirates, helping them finish second in the league and also reach the Champions League semifinals, where they were knocked out by eventual champions Pyramids of Egypt.
Van Rooyen is grateful he has finally received a Bafana call-up.
“It’s an honour and a privilege to get selected for Bafana Bafana’s squad. I’ve been working very hard because you never know when your chance will come … it’s the time now, so I just need to be myself and give my best in these two upcoming games,” he said.
Van Rooyen is not the only Pirates player in the Bafana squad — teammates Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Mohau Nkota and Simphiwe Selepe are all looking forward to making their national team debuts after receiving maiden call-ups, taking the number of Pirates’ representatives in the team to eight.
Bucs’ four seasoned campaigners in Sipho Chaine, Relebohile Mofokeng, Patrick Maswanganyi and Nkosinathi Sibisi are also in the team, with Sibisi set to skipper the side.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.