South Africa and Tanzania played to a goalless draw on Friday night in a friendly game staged at the Peter Mokaba Stadium,
In the absence of Mamelodi Sundowns stars and those playing trade abroad, the Belgian gave a few players a chance to deliver. Deano Van Rooyen, Simphiwe Salepe, Mohau Nkota, Khulumani Ndamane, and Renaldo Leaner made their debut.
The veteran coach has explained how he made his selection in a team that has not played together before.
‘We needed to find balance'
“First of all, the way we select the team is to give players a chance to play for Bafana Bafana, but also to have a balance,” he said in his post-match interview.
“I remember that the first team we selected when the 11 were on paper, we said, oh, shit, there are seven or eight players from [Orlando] Pirates, and we decided that we are not going to do that. So we needed to find a balance. Like Selepe and [Thalente] Mbatha, they are used to playing together.
“So that helped those guys. Next week it will be [Mbekezeli] Mbokazi and [Nkosinathi] Sibisi. So we looked at that. So that’s the way we select these teams. The performance against Tanzania will give us more choices in the future, younger choices.”
‘Bafana is getting old'
The tactician has further explained why it is essential to have youngsters in the national team ahead of the forthcoming competitions.
“I said before that little by little, Bafana is getting old. So we have to look at the future, and if you look at the performance from the young guys [against Tanzania], you can only be happy.
“[On Friday], I was just curious in terms of how this team will react on the pitch, and the reaction was good. So I expect the same thing next Tuesday. It will also be important for a good performance. This is what these games are meant for. It’s up to the players.”
On Tuesday, Bafana Bafana will host Mozambique's Os Mambas at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Tshwane.
