Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has expressed his disappointment over the absence of Percy Tau from the squad for the upcoming international friendlies against eSwatini and Ivory Coast.
Tau, who plays for Al Ahly in Egypt, excused himself from Bafana’s October camp “for family reasons”.
However, the ‘Lion of Judah’ was available for Ahly on Sunday as they beat Ismaily SC 3-1 in an Egypt Premier League encounter. Tau scored two of those goals.
Broos would have wanted to have his vice-captain for those two matches, which he will use as preparation for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Belgian will also use the two encounters to fine-tune his charges for the AFCON finals set for Ivory Coast in January 2024.
WHY HUGO BROOS IS NOT AMUSED BY PERCY TAU’S ABSENCE
“There’s the case of Percy Tau, so I had contact with Percy last week. For family reasons, he liked not to be here. I understood it,” Broos told journalists on Monday.
“On the other side, I’m really not amused that he played yesterday with Al Ahly.
“I think clubs have to understand that in very important periods, they wanted to have their players. But it’s the same case for me, for us as a national team.
“We’re in a very important period for the moment. We’re in preparation for qualifiers next month. And we’re in preparation for AFCON in January. I hoped a little collaboration from that side would help.”
In Tau’s absence, Mduduzi Mdantsane of Kaizer Chiefs was called in as a replacement.
Broos added he wanted the same team that beat Morocco in the AFCON qualifiers in June. Tau started in that match as Bafana beat the FIFA World Cup semi-finalists 2-1.
Meanwhile, the Bafana mentor gave an update on Orlando Pirates defender Nkosinathi Sibisi. The former Golden Arrows captain had to be withdrawn against Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday in the MTN8 final.
“I’m very happy that Sibisi is no problem. It was head contact, a little concussion, so he is okay; little problem with Grant Kekana. He is okay – did an MRI, but he’s here,” Broos added.
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