Johannesburg — Hugo Broos’ decision to select as many as nine defenders in his final squad for Bafana Bafana’s two international friendlies against Guinea and France is alarming. He’s come across as scared and that’s why he opted for a defensive approach.
Bafana are expected to be no match for the reigning world champions France. But you’d expect them to fancy their chances against fellow Africans Guinea, although they finished in the second round in the Africa Cup of Nations last month.
Friendly matches are where coaches get to gauge the team's readiness for major tournaments. And with Bafana out of the qualifiers for the Fifa World Cup, you wouldn’t expect Broos to sit-back against Guinea and France this month.
So why would Broos select so many defenders while he only has five strikers? The danger posed by Frenchmen Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema is known. But you wouldn’t expect Broos to be scared so obviously heading to the clash.
Broos' decision to select Bruce Bvuma ahead of Brandon Petersen was mind-blogging as well. The latter has been Kaizer Chiefs’ No. 1 since the second half of the season started, and has conceded only twice in four games, while Bvuma has only featured in three games this term.
Other selections that shouldn’t have happened were those of Siyanda Xulu and Ethan Brooks. Xulu is currently without a club after parting ways with Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel, while Brooks has been below-par for Galaxy recently.
Instead of Brooks, Broos should have gone for an experienced campaigner such as Andile Jali. Jali has been so good that there are pundits who've already tipped him to be in the running for the Footballer of the Season award in May.
Jali is an all-round player who is aggressive both in defence and in attack. He could have easily complemented Teboho Mokoena in Bafana’s engine room – just like he does at Mamelodi Sundowns.
But it seems Jali’s career for Bafana will not be revived anytime soon, given that Broos said, “it's a choice I made, I know Andile Jali very well because he played in Belgium. I'm looking for other types of players in the midfield of my team."
Goodman Mosele and Thabang Monare haven’t been on form. Their team, Orlando Pirates, crashed out of the Nedbank Cup, while they are behind in the title race. They may have scored 13 goals in Africa, but they’ve conceded as well.
In the midfield, the only ball player is Keagan Dolly. So should Dolly be injured who else will fill in the void? Percy Tau hasn’t been at his best in the Bafana shirt lately. But perhaps now that he’s settled at Al Ahly in Egypt, that will change.
It will be interesting to see how Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Lyle Foster, who’s returning to the team, will fare after their moves to the United States and Belgium respectively.
Bafana Bafana squad:
Goalkeepers: Ronwen Williams, Veli Mothwa, Bruce Bvuma
Defenders: Nyiko Mobbie, Khuliso Mudau, Terrence Mashego, Lyle Lakay, Rushine De Reuck, Siyanda Xulu, Athenkosi Mcaba, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Bandile Shandu
MIidfielders: Mothobi Mvala, Teboho Mokoena, Goodman Mosele, Thabang Monare, Ethan Brooks, Keagan Dolly
Forwards: Lyle Foster, Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Evidence Makgopa, Fagrie Lakay, Percy Tau
IOL Sport