Former Kaizer Chiefs defender, currently at Romanian giants FCSB, Siyabonga Ngezana has made a compelling case to receive a Bafana Bafana call-up but there is a stumbling block.
Ngezana is making big strides in Romania, as his form for FCSB has coincided with them topping the SuperLiga table midway through the season, where they are chasing their first league title since 2015.
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The former Amakhosi defender did not have the best of starts, as he was still settling in a new country and did not play in the first seven league games but he has quickly become one of the most important players for the Red and Blues since making his first start in a 3-0 win over Universitatea Craiova in September this year.
The 26-year-old has gone on to make a further six starts and one substitute appearance to date, where he has helped SB to keep four clean sheets on their way to topping the table.
Ngezana's form continued in the Romanian Cup this week, after he won the Player of the first round award.
That kind of form should be enough to earn a Bafana Bafana call-up, especially considering that a player like Ime Okon, for example, was included in the national team's preliminary squad after just two games for SuperSport United this season, although he did not make the final 23-man squad for friendlies against Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has shown a willingness to give overseas-based players, especially in obscurity, a chance in the national team, as he has done with the likes of Mihlali Mayambela (based in Cyprus), Luke Le Roux (who was based in Sweden before moving to the Netherlands this season) and Sphephelo Sithole (who plays second division football in Portugal).
But with the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers starting in earnest this month and the Africa Cup of Nations tournament coming up in January next year, perhaps Broos does not have a big window to experiment with new players.
However, the Belgian in his latest 44-member preliminary squad, ahead of World Cup qualifier matches against Benin and Rwanda, he inevitably had new faces like Bradley Cross, Taariq Fielies, Tapelo Xoki, Themba Mantshiyane, Jayden Adams, Miguel Timm, Elias Mokwana and Oswin Appollis (all PSL players).
Which begs the question whether Ngezana's omission is a glaring one, like Tashreeq Matthews, who has been overlooked despite an impressive season in Sweden's top flight, as reported by Soccer Laduma.
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