Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has explained his decision to constantly leave out the in-form winger Thembinkosi Lorch in his squad.
The Belgian mentor announced his 23-man squad that will face Zambia in an international friendly as part of preparations for the 2025 AFCON. Bafana have qualified for the Nations Cup that will be held in Morocco this coming December.
South Africa is heading to the tournament as favourites to win the prestigious title after clinching the bronze medal in the previous edition.
In a squad that will do duty against Zambia, Broos has maintained the core of his squad and added new names such as Sekhukhune United star Keletso Makgalwa and Orlando Pirates midfielder Masindi Nemtajela.
The experienced coach has continued to snub Lorch, who has been in a rich vein of form at Wydad Athletic Club in Morocco. The highly-rated attacker has scored four goals in eight matches across all competitions for Wydad.
Lorch also stole the show at the FIFA Club World Cup in the USA a few months ago, displaying dazzling performances against European giants such as Manchester City and Juventus.
HUGO BROOS DOESN’T SEE A REASON TO INCLUDE LORCH IN BAFANA SQUAD
With the former Pirates star seemingly playing his best football in North Africa, Broos mentioned Lorch’s age, among other reasons, he’s not been called up.
“You know, you have to make choices. Lorch was once with us, I think three years ago, when we played in Morocco, and he was playing good for Pirates at that moment,” Broos said.
“I followed, he played and didn’t play again, he got out of Pirates team and he went to Sundowns because Rulani [Mokwena] wanted him, but after a few months he didn’t play anymore.
“So now he’s playing good in Morocco, but you also have to look at his age. This is not a future, I’m very sorry, and if I don’t have other options, maybe I should take him. It happened four years ago with Themba Zwane. I wanted to look for other options, but I didn’t find them, and I had to come back to Themba.
“But again, for Lorch at the moment, I don’t see any reason why I should call him into the team even if he has good performances.”
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