Johannesburg. — Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has explained why the DStv Premiership's Golden Boot winner Tshegofatso Mabasa couldn't crack it into the squad that will face Nigeria and Zimbabwe in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers next month.
Bafana need at least four points to remain on schedule to qualify for the global show-piece, and many thought Mabasa could give Bafana a few attacking options after finishing on top of the PSL's scorers chart with 16 goals.
However, Broos said Mabasa has had his chances and will get more if he continues to perform next season.
"We had a bad experience with Mabasa two years ago (when he was withdrawn after 35 minutes in a 2022 World Cup qualifier away to Ethiopia in October 2021). I had to change him after 35 minutes and everybody said it was a scandal.
"No (it wasn't a scandal), Mabasa didn't reach the level he had to reach for the national team. He's not the same player now. But you see what happened between January this year and the last game he played with Bafana Bafana two years ago.
That was not so good for Mabasa." Broos admitted that Mabasa's form improved, specially in the latter stages of the 2023-2024 campaign in which he scored 10 league goals in 13 matches for Orlando Pirates.
"He's coming back to the (right) level. I don't think I had to take him because I have Iqraam (Rayners, of Stellenbosch FC). Iqraam scored 15 goals. It is a one goal difference. I give the confidence to Iqraam. It was a decision I had to make between him or Mabasa.
"Iqraam did very well in the game (friendly) against Algeria (3-3). He scores easily. So I gave him the confidence and it's up to him to prove it. We will continue to follow Mabasa next sea-son. Certainly let's hope he can do the same things he did in the past four months, scoring goals." Broos said he doesn't have to give individuals, including Mabasa, reasons why he has not selected them as that will consume a lot of his time and it will not make sense.
"I don't want to explain to every player who is not with the national team. That's the reason why (he didn't talk to Mabasa). If I have to do it with one player then I have to explain to 13 players why they're not with us. I don't do that. I'm very sorry. I make my decisions and if you ask why I will answer you. That's not a problem. But I'm not going to call every player and say "you're not there because of that'."
"(Siyanda) Xulu is also not there, but he was always with us since I'm here. Xulu no longer plays for SuperSport (United). He's always on the bench and I think it's a normal decision (that he's not selected).
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"Do I have to explain to every player why they're not there? It's a decision I made and that's it."
Other than Mabasa, Broos also explained why he didn't pick any US-based Bafana players such as Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Njabulo Blom. Both players were not part of the Bafana team that won bronze in the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast earlier this year.
"The experience with players coming from America is not so good. They arrive here exhausted. They travel for two days. They'll never arrive on time because they play most of the time on Sunday and arrive on Tuesday exhausted. "We have to give them a free day on Wednesday because they have to recover and then on Fri-day we have to play a game. That's the problem and it's not the problem of the player or my problem but it's the problem of America being so far away.
"But if Hlongwane is still a standard player, maybe you can think in another way. But he's no longer a standard player. Same thing for Blom.
They don't play. They're on the bench."
Bafana will take a charter flight to Uyo on Wednesday to meet Nigeria on June 7 before hosting Zimbabwe in Free State on June 11 -- Sowetan.
