Bafana Bafana latest | Broos addresses outcry for excluded Kaizer Chiefs star

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has addressed the outcry following the exclusion of Kaizer Chiefs star Njabulo Ngcobo in his latest squad.

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Broos named his 23-man squad that will represent Bafana Bafana against Zimbabwe and Ghana in their opening two FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

And having initially announced a 31-man preliminary squad, Broos trimmed it to 23 and thus leaving no fewer than seven players out, including Ngcobo.

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According to Broos, a choice had to be made, and without revealing much, the Belgian mentor said Bafana Bafana needed a different type of defender for these encounters.

Nonetheless, Broos made it clear that the door is not completely closed on Ngcobo, saying he will make an assessment after the Ghana game whether or not he made a mistake by not selecting the lanky centre-back.

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“It is not to say he won’t be there the next time, but I had to choose,” said Broos upon announcing his latest squad on Tuesday.

“I had 31 players and I had to choose. You have to make a choice, and sometimes it is a tactical choice.

“And sometimes it is a choice because you need a certain type of defender, and that’s what happened with Ngcobo. I know he’s a good defender and he will get a chance in the next months,” he said.

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“Maybe there will be other players who are also disappointed but this is my first [assignment], and maybe after Ghana, I will say to myself, ‘Ah, maybe this one and that one I shouldn’t have decided [to exclude them]’.

“The first choice is always the first choice but again, this is not the final choice, certainly not,” added Broos.

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