With the Africa Cup of Nations tournament on the horizon, Bafana Bafana remain with many players who peak late in their careers and despite their advanced ages, are new in international football.
South Africa head coach Hugo Broos initially wanted to focus on the younger players just after he took over but he changed his policy somewhat to give older players a chance in the national team.
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The likes of Bathusi Aubaas (28), Pule Mmodi (30), Innocent Maela (31) and Nkosinathi Sibisi (27) are among the in-form players in the PSL but they don't have enough caps for the national team considering their ages.
Broos was asked whether this is a concern for him and says he can't account for why those players were not selected in the national team before and he selects players based on what he sees currently in the PSL and abroad.
"Surprised? I don't know how his (Aubaas) performances were two, three years ago. I don't know, I was not here," Broos said in a press conference when asked why Aubaas, in particular, is only discovered now for Bafana.
"So again I think there was many new players for Bafana Bafana who didn't play before, why? It's up to you to find the reason.
"I go and see the games of PSL, I see games abroad on my computer and I see the qualities of players and if I think those players have the qualities to play for Bafana Bafana they are coming," he said.
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International football experience is crucial for the performances of the national team in major tournaments, as there is little room for learning and South African footballers generally peaking late in their careers could be one of the reasons why Bafana have not done so well, whether in qualifying or playing in major competitions over the last two decades or so.The ironical problem thereafter is that once a player does gain the required experienced, they are deemed too old when going into their 30s and are not selected anymore, though SAFA has allowed just a few exceptions to this rule if a player's presence in the squad is absolutely crucial, such as Mamelodi Sundowns' Themba Zwane who was initially ignored but then later brought into the team to help Bafana qualify for AFCON.
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