Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has confirmed that midfielders Thalente Mbatha and Jayden Adams have been withdrawn from the squad for different reasons.
Mbatha and Adams will be replaced by Bathusi Aubaas and Sinoxolo Kwayiba.
Both players were initially named in the 23-man squad for the clash due to take place at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Adams was reportedly withdrawn from the squad due to bad behaviour.
Bafana arrived in Gqeberha on Sunday ahead of the 2025 AFCON qualifier against Congo on Friday. The Stellenbosch FC player, Adams allegedly did not arrive in Gqeberha with the rest of the team on Sunday as initially planned.
HUGO BROOS EXPLAINS WHY JAYDEN ADAMS HAD TO BE WITHDRAWN FROM THE SQUAD
“He’s not a guy who is 16, and he’s not an old player either, but if he has the attitude that he had, the only thing I can do is get him out of the group because this is not what I want from players,” Broos was quoted by SABC Sport.
“So, I can’t afford to let someone in that doesn’t have that attitude anymore. So it’s up to Jayden now to think about what he’s going to do with his future.”
THALANTHE MBATHA WILL MISS THE BAFANA BAFANA MATCH DUE TO AN INJURY
Meanwhile, Broos also explained that Mbatha was withdrawn after scans confirmed a knee injury on Monday. This follows Orlando Pirates’ participation in the MTN8 final in Durban, where they beat Stellies 3-1 in the final.
“I want to see the real South Africa against Congo. We did not see the real South Africa in our last two games [against Uganda and South Sudan],” he told SAFA Media.
“I was not happy with the performance, but I was happy with the result [won 3-2 against South Sudan]. I am slightly less happy when I speak about the result against Uganda because I wanted to win that game,” he said.
The match on Friday will kick off at 19:00 before the squad jets off to Congo for the return match on Tuesday.
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