Kermit Erasmus, Ben Motshwari and Fortune Makaringe were all cut from Bafana Bafana's Africa Cup of Nations squad, and this is why.
Stuart Baxter has offered some insight into what led to his decision to leave out the trio from his final 23-man squad headed for Dubai tonight and then onto Egypt in the coming days.
Bafana initially had a 30-man provisional squad, including Croatian youth centre-back Nikola Tavares and Swiss youth right-back Joel Untersee, who were eventually ruled out due to paperwork and bureaucracy issues, while Keagan Dolly's injury and Rivaldo Coetzee's disappearance ruled them out too.
The only casualties therefore were the trio, which Baxter says was an extremely difficult conclusion to arrive at, but hopes they get the bigger picture.
"I told the players, when we selected this squad of 27 players for AFCON tournament, to be part of that squad, I hope they see that as a massive boost for their career and future," said Baxter.
"I spoke to Kermit and I told him, I think he has just got his career back on track, really and seriously, with Cape Town City, and he's done well.
"I wanted to tell him that, "I think you're doing well' but inviting him into this squad. Right up until the last day, he was in with a very good chance.
READ: 'Lion of Judah' is on the prowl
"He'd been very good, but I just think that we've got cover in those positions, and I've had to pick a couple of players that can maybe double up as centre-back, which also titled the scales a little bit.
"Now, I hope that he sees it like that, and he assured me he did. And the other two lads – exactly the same, we've got more experienced midfield players and both of them, I hope, see it as a step in the right direction for their careers.
"All three lads have been excellent on camp and have strengthened their credentials for me with the national team, and I hope they go away and show other people why they were selected for this camp, not put their heads down and let if affect them."
READ: 'We're so underrated, it's ridiculous'