iDiski TV analyst Junior Khanye has made a plea to Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos to trust Relebohile Mofokeng ahead of what he called an ‘unfit’ Themba Zwane.
Khanye’s comments follow the first international friendly between Bafana and Panama last Friday in Durban which ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
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Zwane started the match, lasted 60 minutes and was replaced by the Orlando Pirates attacker.
Khanye argues that Mshishi’ s quality is unquestionable however his recent form and how he’s been used at Mamelodi Sundowns suggest someone else should be ahead of him in the national team.
The former Kaizer Chiefs winger also adds that there’s no need to demoralise a player who’s doing well and winning awards to back him.
“Our starting 11 was questionable,” said Khanye on iDiski TV.
“I was not going to play Mshishi after Rele won player of the month. The boy is doing well, play him as a number 10. I know you trust Mshishi but just play him [Rele].
“I’ll borrow from [Carlo] Ancelotti’s statement what he said after the game between France and Brazil. They asked him about Neymar after the loss. He said players who are physically fit, really sharp and playing regularly in top leagues or doing well for their team he starts them, then relying on a player who’s not physically fit, a player that can be used as an excuse after losing a game.
“Mshishi we know what he can do but you can’t start him because even at Sundowns he’s not playing regularly. And today [Friday] he lost possession and you can see he’s not that confident.
“This is preparation whether we lose or win it doesn’t matter. Yes, you need results but it’s also about how you play.
“From my observation you can see the coach wants to start him [Zwane] against the likes of Mexico.
“He shouldn’t do that when he has fit players who can do well like this boy. Player of the month, don’t demoralize him, start him. Mshishi has done a lot for South African football but trust Rele.”
