Mashaba squad question marks
Mashaba has named his 34-man squad to take on Sudan in an African Nations Cup qualifier in Khartoum, nine of whom will only join the squad when they return for the Nigeria qualifier in Cape Town. Bafana will face Sudan on 5 September and will host the Super Eagles on 10 September.
The big question is, did Mashaba make the right selections?
Consider the current sitiuation: Bafana only have a few days left to start their campaign to qualify for the 2015 Afcon. Their first test is against Sudan away and they welcome defending champions Nigeria. Mashaba could have gone for the tried and tested players to accomplish that mission, players who will be able to hit the ground running until after next year's continental showpiece. After that we will have almost two years to build towards the 2017 AFCON and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. That's when we could have started worrying about sustainable development of talent.
Over and above that, some selections he made were enough to raise a few eyebrows. Why was Ntsikelelo Nyauza selected ahead of Happy Jele, at their club (Orlando Pirates) it's the other way around. Was it the age factor? Nyauza is younger, granted, but Jele is 27, meaning he will be 31 in 2018. He should be part of Mashaba's plans. He's also a consistent performer at Pirates. For the Sudan fixture, Supersport United goalkeeper, Dumisani Msibi, is preferred to Ronwen Williams, to whom he plays second fiddle at club level. How old is Williams? Only 22. If you take into account Ndumiso Mabena and Bongani Ndulula's form since the season started, who would you have chosen for these fixtures? I also believe on-form youngsters like Thulani Serero and May Mahlangu should have formed part of the team. I would also have shown faith in the likes of Tshepo Masilela, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Siyabonga Sangweni and Reneilwe Letsholonyane.
(File Photo:Gallo Images)
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