Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has explained the surprise absence of DStv Premiership Golden Boot winner Tshegofatso Mabasa from the final 23-man squad for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
In Pirates' last league match of the season, Mabasa netted his 16th goal of the campaign, beating Stellenbosch FC striker Iqraam Rayners in the race for the Golden Boot.
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For all his efforts, the 27-year-old was a surprise omission from the initial 36-man preliminary Bafana Bafana squad, then the latest 23-man squad to take on Nigeria and Zimbabwe in June.
Speaking on SABC Sport during the final 23-man squad announcement, Broos revealed his reasons behind opting against the red-hot marksman.
"It's the choice you have to make. If I took Mabasa, you would tell [ask] me now, 'Why not Iqraam?' So it's a choice you have to make.
"Mabasa was already with us, and yes okay, you can't decide from one game, but it was a disaster that game for him.
"Then he went somewhere, it was no longer 'Mabasa, Mabasa'. He was not with Pirates.
"So, now he is showing that he is not a bad striker, so let's wait for next season and see if he can go on like this."
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Probed further by journalists, Broos added that while he is happy with the ex-Bloemfontein Celtic player's progress, he is yet to be convinced.
"We had a bad experience with Mabasa two years ago. I had to change him after 35 minutes and everybody said it was a scandal.
"Mabasa didn't reach the level he had to reach for the national team. He's not the same player anymore, but you see what happened between January and the last game he played for Bafana two years ago. That was not good."
"I don't think, for me, that I have to take him now because I have also Iqraam. Iqraam scored also 15 goals. It's a goal difference, so I give confidence to Iqraam right now.
"It was a decision – him or Mabasa. But Iqraam did very well in the game against Algeria and I gave him the confidence now.
"We will follow Mabasa next season. Let's hope he continues what he did, scoring goals in the last four months. Then we will have another striker."
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