Head coach Hugo Broos has expressed concern over the playing time of Orlando Pirates striker Zakhele Lepasa at the club level as Bafana Bafana prepares for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
South Africa is set to host Benin on Saturday at Moses Mabhida Stadium in their first qualifier match for the 2026 FIFA World Cup before taking on Rwanda on Tuesday, 21 November.
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Although Broos stuck to his guns in the selection Lepasa, who has not started a league match for Pirates since September, the Belgian tactician admits the striker's place in Bafana Afcon squad may be at risk.
"Like, I said before, for me, Zakhele is a good striker," Broos said on SABC Sport during the Bafana Bafana squad announcement.
"Even though he did not play so much again in the last week, last week he was suspended.
"But he is a type of striker we don't have for the moment. We have Mothiba, but Mothiba is tall, he is the one who can keep the ball. But Lepasa is the one who moves, he moves a lot.
"So therefore again, I selected him for the team for the two qualifiers.
"But I know if this position stays; he doesn't play or he doesn't play much, then okay I have to maybe choose something else because can't go to Afcon with players who don't the rhythm of the matches in January.
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Bafana Bafana go top of Group K with a 2-1 win over the No.1 ranked team on the continent.Zakhele Lepasa netted the winner in this #TotalEnergiesAFCONQ2023 clash ? pic.twitter.com/n1r5Zmn8Bl
— SuperSport Football ?? (@SSFootball) June 17, 2023
Lepasa has registered 10 goals across all competitions for the Buccaneers this season but has seemingly lost his place to Evidence Makgopa at Pirates.
Bafana's match against Benin is scheduled to kick off at 15:00.
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