Bafana Bafana | The 2 Sundowns stars Broos should NOT have overlooked!

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has named his 34-man provisional squad for back-to-back 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia in October.

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And there are TWO glaring omissions from his latest squad, and these are the players who have been at their best for their team this season.

While Broos’ new era has been applauded as he has done away with the tried and tested that let Bafana Bafana down for the longest time, there are still easily noticeable mistakes from his approach.

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When Broos was appointed in May 2021, he made it clear that he intends to work with a pool of younger players to build for the future.

And he has done a brilliant job in revamping Bafana Bafana, and giving as many of those younger players a chance as possible.

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But with every squad in any country in the world, there would still be one or two players whom the country would feel deserve an opportunity.

In this case, those players are Mamelodi Sundowns duo of Lyle Lakay and Rivaldo Coetzee.

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Lakay, 30, is arguably the best left-back in the PSL right now, and he’s well ahead of the likes of Sifiso Hlanti and Nyiko Mobbie who Broos appears to favour.

And this is not even a matter of age for Lakay as Hlanti is 31 but included in the squad – hence Broos’ squad selection is questionable.

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Lakay has been solid at the back, creates goalscoring chances, and has a knack for goals, especially from deadball situations – and he deserves some respect.

Another player that was rather unfairly overlooked is none other Coetzee, who is Lakay’s teammate at Sundowns.

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Coetzee, the man moved from central defence to central midfield by Pitso Mosimane, has flourished in that position for Sundowns this season.

He may be underrated by a section of football fans in that position, especially those who witnessed his rise as a centre-back.

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However, he gets the job done – his marking has improved and his passing game is that of an established anchor in that Sundowns midfield.

At 24, Coetzee can still give Bafana Bafana a solid six years in that midfield and perhaps plug any gaps that may arise in defence when necessary.

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To make his case stronger, Coetzee has won more man of the match awards than any other player in the league this season (3), and this goes to show that he’s been doing his best in that central midfield position.

Without putting any pressure on Broos to pick certain players in his Bafana Bafana squad, the truth of the matter is that the team would have been much stronger with the Sundowns duo in it.

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