There has been suggestions that Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has not found a way to get the best out of Percy Tau at the AFCON and Bafana Bafana legend Doctor Khumalo has explained how he should be used to SA's benefit.
Tau came to the tournament as the most prominent player for Bafana, in a squad dominated by local players, mostly from Mamelodi Sundowns and a lot was expected from him to play an influential role.
However, the Al Ahly forward is yet to play his best football at the tournament and also yet to score and there has been suggestions from supporters that he is not being played in the right position by Broos.
The former Brighton and Hove Albion forward has been played mostly on the left wing, where he looks uncomfortable, tucking inside the midfield and even on the right wing, he has not been able to produce the magic he's capable of.
READ | Williams issues warning ahead of Nigeria clash
Ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final encounter against Nigeria on Wednesday, Khumalo says just like Victor Osimhen attracts the attention of the opposition, Tau has the same effect and despite his lack of form, should not be dropped and should be used to draw the attention of defenders, to create spaces for others to hurt the Super Eagles.
"The same can be said about Percy (same as Osimhen). He scores a lot for Al Ahly, he's a thorn when he's on the field, you can tell those players believe in him," Khumalo said on SABC's SoccerZone.
"It's not only for him to hit the back of the net, you must take into consideration, as much as we're expecting him to be on song, this is the tournament whereby at some stage the focus is on him.
"So we only need him to move away defenders, not him exerting his skill, in order for us to score, but his presence to drag with him one or two, then we can be able to go in, it's the same thing that happened in '96," he added.
Bafana's clash against Nigeria is at 7pm.