Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has ruled out the possibility of calling-up Gaston Sirino to the squad, despite the Kaizer Chiefs player being eligible to feature for the country.
Broos announced his final 23-man squad for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Uganda and South Sudan and will have to secure positive results without his main source of creativity, Themba Zwane, who is out recovering from an injury he picked up in the last qualifier against Congo away from home.
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A player who has at times been on the lips of many football supporters, now and in the past, is Sirino. The Uruguayan, it's understood, holds a South African passport, making him eligible to play for the country. The 33-year-old, who has been in South Africa since 2018, has never represented Uruguay at any level.
"I have to be honest, no. I know that Sirino is a very good player. I know he can be important for Chiefs, but he is not really the type of player I want. Secondly, he is 34, I think. So, I was looking for months to have somebody else other than Themba because he was old that time, I don't go to take another older player," Broos said after he announced his squad in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, on Thursday afternoon.
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"I wanted to find younger than Sirino. He is a good player, but he doesn't really match my ideas of football."
Broos' response to the Sirino question could put calls to have the player in the national team to bed. But the coach has previously changed his mind on selections, even regarding Zwane, so anything is possible, especially if Sirino can be consistent and influential for Amakhosi.
