Doctor Khumalo offers insight on Percy Tau’s Bafana form

Bafana Bafana legend Doctor Khumalo has shared his view on Percy Tau’s dip in form in the national team colours, while also emphasising a crucial aspect of the attacker’s role beyond on-field contributions.

Tau recently made his return to Bafana for the two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin. The left-footed attacker was in the starting line-up when South Africa claimed a 2-0 victory over Lesotho last Friday in Polokwane.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns star’s appearance against Lesotho was met with a mixed reception, as missed scoring opportunities drew audible frustration from the crowd. Despite creating chances, the forward struggled to find the net.

Tau, who played 89 minutes against ‘Likuena’ last, found the back of the net for Bafana Bafana against Namibia in January 2024 during the AFCON showpiece in the Ivory Coast.

WHAT DOCTOR KHUMALO SAID ABOUT PERCY TAU’S FORM

With the 30-year-old seemingly struggling to regain his best form, Khumalo says Tau has a significant role to play in guiding young Bafana players, such as Relebohile Mofokeneg.

The attacker parted ways with Egyptian giant Al Ahly to pen a deal with Qatar SC, a team in the Qatar Stars League. This January move comes after a period where Tau experienced reduced playing time at Al Ahly.

“Percy Tau has been isolated for quite a long time, he’s been moved from one country to the other, and I’m so disappointed to hear ex-players saying that he was trying too much,” Khumalo said on Soccer Zone.

“There’s nothing extraordinary this man was trying to make, it’s just footballing problems. There are two corner kicks that he played, and all of them went on the other side, and they [fans] started booing him.

“I mean, you have youngsters in this team, and Percy is playing a role with them. Remember, he must also start from the beginning because of his long absence from the team. Personally, I feel that he played the way I expected him to play; maybe he was not at his best, but his presence had an impact on the opponents and youngsters in the team.

“Obviously, we can’t play with youngsters only, and you can see that it’s even difficult to fill Themba Zwane’s position in this Bafana team.”

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