Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has offered an explanation on the return of Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Jayden Adams, who is back in the national fold for the first time since October last year.
Bafana are set to take on Lesotho and Benin in two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers later this month, with the final 23-man squad to report for camp on Monday having been selected.
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Among the surprises is a return for Adams, who has not appeared for Bafana since the 2024 AFCON in February last year.
He had been dropped from the squad in October after failing to report for camp on the agreed date.
The midfielder has been a mainstay at new club Sundowns, despite initial concerns he would not get much playing time. Adams has not missed a single match since his arrival at Chloorkop at the start of February.
"Everyone knows why Jayden was not with us," Broos said on SABC Sport shortly after announcing his squad.
"I hope he learned a lot from what he did. He knows that what he did, you can't do that. You can't do that. When you are selected for the national team, you do everything to come.
"So, this is something - and I said it already - I wanted to just show him that Jayden, this is not the right attitude.
"But, for his qualities, I like Jayden as a player. He is a good player. He is playing well now again with Sundowns. So, I didn't see a reason why I shouldn't call him up again now.
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"I was afraid he would not play so much because Sundowns, as you know, have a lot of players, but yes, he has managed to be a standard (regular) player for the moment and I am happy," explained the Belgian.
Besides Adams, there are eight other Sundowns players selected.