Johannesburg - The Cosafa Cup is due to be held in early July in Durban with David Notoane leading Bafana Bafana.
The tournament is supposedly meant to serve as a platform for Bafana to nurture their young players who show potential of being future SA stars.
One or two veterans are also often given opportunities in the side to not only add experience but also to provide guidance to the youngsters in the team.
If one thing is certain, it is Bafana’s head coach Hugo Broos who should have been leading the national team at the tournament instead of Notoane. Broos has shown through his time in charge of the national team so far that he prefers a youth driven approach to his national team setup. He has shown the door to veterans, notably Temba Zwane and Andile Jali.
The tournament would have served as a good opportunity for Broos to experiment with different formations, players and combinations. While Notoane is an esteemed coach in his own right, he naturally will have a different football philosophy instead of that of Broos and so Bafana are essentially not maximising what they can achieve from the Cosafa Cup.
Meanwhile, something else that Bafana should consider doing is giving more European based players an opportunity, even if they play in less fancied leagues in Europe.
It must not be forgotten that over a decade ago, former national team coach Gordon Igesund took a chance by giving national team opportunities to Dean Furman who was then playing in the English League One (third tier). Furman went on to become an important component of the national team for the best part of the last decade.
One such European based player who has indicated that he is open to playing for Bafana Bafana is 23-year-old AFC Wimbledon midfielder Ethan Chislett. While Chislett’s side were relegated from the third-tier, he did make 29 League appearances in the physically demanding league and is arguably capable of donning the Bafana jersey.
“I’ve always said my intention is to represent South Africa at national team level. I believe a player always has a right to a chance as long as they are performing. It is up to them to make something happen with the chance given. I can speak for the level here in England and it is high,” Chislett told IOL Sport.
Another player that Broos should consider giving opportunities at national team level to is 24-year-old attacker Tsiki Ntsabeleng who plays for FC Dallas in Major League Soccer.
After starting his professional career in the United States following some impressive displays on the College scene, Ntsabeleng was integrated into the FC Dallas first-team earlier this year and has also since scored his first league goals against Houston Dynamo.
IOL Sport