Former Bafana Bafana striker Patrick Mayo has questioned coach Hugo Broos' decision to leave an in-form striker like Tshegofatso Mabasa out of his preliminary squad.
South Africa are set to face old enemies Nigeria as well as neighbors Zimbabwe in next month's 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
On Wednesday, the Belgian named a 36-man squad, leaving out DStv Premiership leading scorer Mabasa.
The Orlando Pirates danger-man has so far this season scored 15 league goals and looks set to walk away with the Golden Boot.
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"I'd be lying if I were to say I understand why Tshegofatso Mabasa is not part of the Bafana Bafana team," Mayo points out, speaking to KickOff.
"Hugo Broos made a very big blunder by leaving out an in-form player like Mabasa. First of all, this guy is in top form. He and Iqraam Rayners are our top strikers at the moment.
"Mabasa is a finisher, he is always at the right place at the right time. He knows how to position himself. He is able to turn half a chance into a full chance, that boy. That's because he is always at the right place at the right time.
"The reason why the goals he scores are easy its because he knows how to position himself. He is not putting himself under pressure by trying to turn defenders inside out and doing whatever, he knows how to capitalize on available space. He is great finisher," adds the former Kaizer Chiefs star.
"So, what Broos did yesterday is a very big blunder, umhlola, because the guy is a top goalscorer."
Mayo believes the reason Broos' selections are always questionable is because he has his own favourite players.
"What has Evidence Makgopa done to deserve to be there? Because Mabasa has been scoring in every game. We are missing strikers like Mabasa in our national team, someone who is always inside the box. It's very rare to find Mabasa outside the box. We need strikers.
"If I was the coach, I would have left out Makgopa and picked Mabasa. I believe Mabasa would have carried his form to the national team. That would have helped us. It's not normal for a country to leave out their league's top goalscorer when going to a war.
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"But maybe it's how he does things because this is not the first time he is doing this. Mabasa will only receive a national team call-up after Hugo Broos reads the people's comments about this."
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