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The Bafana Bafana midfield pairing Doctor Khumalo craves

Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana legend Doctor Khumalo has picked a midfield pairing he’s craving to see in national team colours.

Khumalo, a 1996 AFCON winner, believes this pairing could silence an ongoing argument in local football.

He hopes Bafana coach Hugo Broos could throw the two players into the fray in an international friendly match. However, unless a surprise opportunity arises, Bafana may not have international friendlies this year. Instead, the South African national team plays Nigeria and Zimbabwe in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June. 

Khumalo will get to see these two players collide in a high-profile domestic match next month.

WHICH TWO MIDFIELDERS DOES DOCTOR KHUMALO WANT TO SEE PAIRED TOGETHER?

In a thrilling twist of fate, these two midfielders will clash in the Nedbank Cup final on June 1, 2024, representing rivals Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.

“I really want to see Themba [Zwane] and Tito [Patrick Maswanganyi] playing together. I want to see what would happen,” Khumalo told 10BET ambassador Andile Ncube. “But again, we can’t as a nation dwell on whether Tito is better than Themba or Themba is better than Tito. We can’t do that man. I mean, they’ve got their own way of doing things.”

Patrick 'Tito' Maswanganyi made his Bafana Bafana debut
Patrick ‘Tito’ Maswanganyi made his Bafana Bafana debut in March

Khumalo acknowledged the strengths of both players, emphasising they were both unbelievable talents. “Tito is a good left footer and Themba with left or right. They’re both unbelievable young players,” he said.

‘Mdokisi’ believes these two midfielders would thrive with a strong defensive midfielder providing support.

“I don’t know which international friendly is coming up, I can’t wait to see them played together and we have probably one of the defensive midfielders that can just protect them. A player like [Goodman] Mosele or [Teboho] Mokoena,” he concluded.

Zwane, 34, is Bafana’s talisman and national team coach Hugo Broos has repeatedly spoken about his search for his replacement. Maswanganyi, 26, made his Bafana debut in March against Andorra in Algeria. 

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