Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has provided his reasons for leaving out Sundowns maestro Neo Maema from the Bafana Bafana squad for important upcoming match.
The versatile midfielder has had a sensational season with The Brazilians, making 29 appearances with a return of six goals and four assists and many expected Maema to be at earn a first call-up to the national team.
"It came as a surprise then, when the 27-year-old did not even make the preliminary squad. However, Broos has confirmed Maema’s efforts have not gone unnoticed.
"For sure [we are tracking him], Maema is playing better and better since last season, we’ve been following Maema, but [back] then he was in and out," the Belgian coach said during the final 23-man Bafana squad announcement held at SABC studios in Auckland.
"But now I think his performances are better, they are more stable and I hope that my choices in the future will be more difficult every time because that means that we have more good players.
READ | Mammila: SA coaches should watch Sundowns three times a day
A valiant effort from Neo Maema earns him a man of the match award in his hometown!??#Sundowns #NedbankCup pic.twitter.com/yCyVwK81yj
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) March 2, 2023
Broos, who selected eight players from the Sundowns squad, also expressed concern over the lack of teams challenging Sundowns in the Premiership.
"It [Sundowns’ dominance] is not working against me at all, But I said already that when you have so many players of the same team. It means you can’t find the quality somewhere else and that’s not good for South African football."
Bafana Bafana meet Liberia on Friday, 24 March at the Orlando Stadium before traveling to West Africa for the return fixture to be played on Tuesday 28 March.
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