Sifiso Hlanti opens up on losing his position at Bafana Bafana

Kaizer Chiefs fullback Sifiso Hlanti has opened up on losing his position at Bafana Bafana.

The experienced defender has been omitted from the national team set-up since October 2021.

Hlanti was beginning to be a regular at national level with 24 caps. However, he has been overlooked for quite sometime now by coach Hugo Broos.

This may be due to his club’s inconsistent performances as Amakhosi have been struggling at the back. They have been conceding silly goals and committing schoolboy errors.

So far this season, the Soweto giants have let in 37 goals in all competitions. But the 33-year-old Hlanti has been one of the top performers.

The last time Hlanti was called up for national duty was back in October 2021 for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar qualifiers against Ethiopia.

HLANTI ON FAILING TO MAKE IT IN THE BAFANA SQUAD

Hlanti says the decision comes from the coach, and all declared that he will continue to work hard at club level.

“In this game of football, there is always competition. For me, there is no one who owns the position,” said Hlanti.

“The decision that the coaches always take it’s their choice, we can’t control the situation. Our main focus as players is to deliver in the field of play and try by all means to do our level best.

“When you push yourself and want to see yourself a better player you always try by all means to grind [performance and results].

“It’s one of those aspects but we cannot look down and say we not doing enough. We are players, we know what we capable.”

To add, no Chiefs player was called up to represent Bafana in March against Liberia in back-to-back AFCON qualifiers set to be hosted in Ivory Coast in January 2024.

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