Amid calls for Lyle Lakay to be included in the latest Bafana Bafana squad, Hugo Broos has explained his thinking behind opting for S’fiso Hlanti and Terrence Mashego in the left-back spot.
Broos didn’t include Lakay in his 34-man provisional squad and as a consequence also not in the final 23-man squad for the qualifiers against Ethiopia.
Instead, he opted for Hlanti and Mashego to cover the left-back position, saying it is important to have a good balance between younger and experienced players.
“Let’s go a little bit to what happened before,” he told Thomas Mlambo on the Ultimate Sport Show when asked why he picked Mashego and Hlanti.
“They were all players from Mamelodi Sundowns and from Kaizer Chiefs and they didn’t qualify for AFCON.
“So I think it’s the right time to start now with a new team, with young players. To learn them how they can reach a higher level and I think we are on a good way.
“Everyone said after the first selection, ‘what is that’, ‘why this one, why that one’, ‘why all those young players’…
“We play a draw in Zimbabwe and beat Ghana. So now again, there are young players but also experienced players. Hlanti is there, Lebusa is there – ok, he was injured the first time but ok, it’s not only young players.
“You have to have a good mix of young and old players, and certainly a group with quality and a good mentality.”
