Bafana Bafana coach, Hugo Broos, SHOULD be upset that he doesn’t have a striker he can point to with confidence that the goals are coming from him as the 2026 World Cup games in Mexico, Canada and the United States of America (USA) are just days away.
Bafana is fortunate to be part of the opening game of the tournament by facing Mexico on June 11 at the Azteca Stadium, Mexico City.
In this group that starts with a rematch of the 2010 tournament, which was held in South Africa, there are also Korea Republic and Czechia.
This Belgian coach does not hide his love for Lyle Foster of Burnley of England and Evidence Makgopa of Orlando Pirates, but the recent results of the two games against Panama reminded him that these lovers are not as sharp as they need in the World Cup.
This problem for Bafana is obvious, but the good thing about it is that Broos has not hidden that he has changed his mind about the strikers he will go with in the World Cup even though they are already there and he is thinking about them.
LYLE FOSTER
When Bafana drew 1-1 and were beaten 2-1 by Panama in Durban and Cape Town respectively, Foster lost a lot of chances.
This bluntness of Foster has started a debate among the followers of the South African footballer about the remaining of Iqraam Rayners of Mamelodi Sundowns in the recent Bafana squads.
The reason for this is his speech Broos where he described Foster as being lazy even though his quality is high.
This season Foster has scored three goals in three games for Burnley 23 in the Premier League of England.
In Afcon he scored two in four games and has 10 goals in 30 games he has played for Bafana.
EVIDENCE SHEEP
Although Broos has been criticized many times for not leaving Makgopa, but the Belgian coach is still adamant that when the striker is on the field, it is clear that he will be put on the field with goals.
Makgopa is the type of striker who moves in the way Broos wants but he has the problem of being denied by the number of goals compared to the opportunity he got on the field in this national team and Pirates.
“I love Makgopa that he does everything I ask of him in the few opportunities I give him on the field. It bothers him that he doesn’t start every game for Pirates (Orlando) but he is a player I will always rely on,” said Broos in the media last month.
This season, Makgopa is used to starting on the bench for Zimnyama since coach Abdeslam Ouaddou prefers to start Yanela Mbuthuma. He has six goals in 25 games in different competitions.
In Afcon, he scored one in three games and has six goals in 24 games he has played for Bafana Bafana.
IQRAAM RAYNERS
When Broos admitted that he was not fully happy with the strikers, he explained to the media about the type of striker that interferes with the way he wants to play for Bafana.
“The way we play forces the striker not to stand still and wait for the ball because this will not happen as we believe in starting from the back,” said Broos to the media in Cape Town last month.
“There is no need for the strikers to stand together because this is an opportunity to allow us to play in the way we are used to,” he continued.
What stood out in Broos’ description of the striker he wants is Rayners’ style of play, who is the leader with 11 goals in the Betway Premiership for South African strikers. This season he has 15 goals in 28 games in different competitions.
In Afcon, he was among the players who were targeted. He has five goals inThey are tied for 18 games.