Hugo Broos Defends Bafana Bafana AFCON Team Selection Amid Continued Criticism

• Hugo Broos has stated he has picked the best options he has had available to him
• The Belgian has faced scrutiny over the selection of players like Evidence Makgopa
• Broos led Cameroon to the AFCON title in 2017 without a number of their big stars

The South African football community is a fickle beast. Seldom is a team announced for a major occasion without cries from all corners debating those in and out of the squad.

The central talking point around South Africa's AFCON 2023 team is the perceived lack of goal-scoring threat and those tasked with bagging the goals for Bafana Bafana.

First-choice forwards, Lyle Foster and Lebo Mothiba will not be going to Ivory Coast. Foster requested to be omitted for personal reasons and Mothiba broke a bone in his knee.

Lyle Foster to miss AFCON on specialist's orders despite Burnley return

Football

This has left the Orlando Pirates duo of Zakhele Lepasa and Evidence Makgopa as the recognised centre-forwards.

Accepting he had a difficult decision to make, the Belgian stated the pair were familiar with the Bafana Bafana setup and had performed adequately when required.

As reported by iDiskiTimes, Broos explained:

"Give me a South African player who is the same type as Mothiba. I don’t think you can give it. It’s a choice again and those guys were with us before. They have quality and I think it’s normal that we choose them to go with us to AFCON."

In 2017, the 71-year-old faced a far more severe player shortage when several of Cameroon's stars opted out of their squad for that edition of AFCON.

Then, a total of eight European-based players chose their clubs over their country. Africa News reported how Eric Choupo-Moting, Joel Matip, Andre Onana, and Andre Anguissa were among the notable absentees.

South Africa to go all the way at AFCON says Bafana Bafana striker Khanyisa Mayo

Football

Despite this, the Indomitable Lions clinched the continental title by beating Egypt 2-1.

Exciting news! We have a WhatsApp channel 🤩

➡️ Click to join our channel for all your favourite sports news.

Hugo Broos announces AFCON squad

Sports Brief recently reported on Broos' selection of 23 South Africans to challenge for the AFCON title.

Broos made his announcement from Belgium, where he had returned for the festive season to see family.

The Bafana Bafana squad will arrive in Cape Town on January 5 before flying to Ivory Coast on January 10.