Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs legend Doctor Khumalo has revealed he would’ve loved to see Orlando Pirates hitman Tshegofatso Mabasa in the current squad of Hugo Broos, but also explained why he thinks the Belgian tactician left him out.
Mabasa, 27, has experienced a great career revival since the beginning of last season, but more especially since returning to the Buccaneers from Moroka Swallows in January.
After winning the Golden Boot last season, Mabasa is one of the few strikers who have featured in five games in 2024/25 already, netting once.
Khumalo says he’d have loved the Bucs forward at Bafana, but also feels the type of striker he is might not 100% fit in Broos’ philosophy.
“He’s on top of his game and I would’ve loved to see him being part of the national team,” he said on the DNA Podcast.
“Because at the of the day, these boys go out and give us results, we always tell them ‘do well in your club in order for you to be selected in the national team’. But here we have Mabasa who is not selected for the national team.
“When you look at the strikers he rotates, I’m surprised also that [Khanyisa] Mayo is not there, [Bongokuhle] Hlongwane that is doing well in the USA.
“But like I said the coach will have to choose players that he strongly believes will suit the system he wants to play.
“Because he cannot sacrifice his philosophy for an individual for that matter. From all the players he’s called, Mabasa is a link, he’s a reference, he’s the one that can bulldoze centrally.
“But most of the players that he’s selected [before] – Percy, Makgopa, they don’t stick as outright strikers, they are mobile, they go to the right, they go to the left, sometimes they drop in the middle.
“With Mabasa you only find a situation whereby you feed, you play through him. From the look of things, I might be wrong, but how Mabasa plays is not the kind of player the coach wants.”
Bafana return to action on Tuesday when they will face South Sudan in their second 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
