Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane has explained why Sabah FK defender Aden McCarthy did not make the final cut of Bafana’s 2027 AFCON qualifiers against Kenya despite his good form at the club saying it boils down to the competition in his position.
The two nations will face each other in back-to back matches this month, with South Africa looking to win Group D as Kenya are already through to the finals as one of the co-hosts of the event.
McCarthy is enjoying a good form at his new side, who are currently second in their domestic league with 20 points in nine matches and also impressive run in the UEFA Champions League.
The former Kaizer Chiefs man has also scored in Europe’s premium club competition, but also got a red card in Wednesday night’s clash at Viking.
Mosimane says he acknowledges that the 22-year-old is doing well, however he had to consider Chicago Fire centre-back Mbekezeli Mbokazi who was last with the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and also Rangers’ Olwethu Makhanya after his superb start in Scotland.
“I would like to also touch a little bit, just one point, especially on defenders,” said Mosimane on SABC TV.
“We saw Aden McCarthy. He scored also, right? He scored in the Championship League. But we need to give Mbokazi an opportunity to be back with the national team because he has done exceptionally well for the national team.
“He played in the World Cup, right? And then Olwethu Makhanya has been playing, right? So you see now where we fall with McCarthy, he’s doing well we all know that.
“If I had a friendly like with Egypt I’d call all of them. They’d all be here and play and we see them.”