Rulani makes huge claim on Broos' Bafana AFCON squad selection | OneFootball

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Rulani on Broos' AFCON squad

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South African tactician Rulani Mokwena says Hugo Broos' Bafana Bafana squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) was not strong enough for a tournament of such magnitude.

The Belgian mentor snubbed the in-form Thembinkosi Lorch and Gift Links, among others, opting to instead hand youngsters Shandre Campbell and Tylon Smith their maiden senior call-ups.

Having clinched the Bronze medal in the previous edition in Ivory Coast, Bafana fell short in the Round of 16 against Cameroon, much to the disappointment of South Africans.

Reflecting on his country's showing, Mokwena, who is at the helm of Algerian champions MC Alger, believes Broos didn't select a full strength squad, which affected the team's preparations.

“For me it has to do with the preparations and selection. I just believe that in the national team our best players must be available for such competitions and I don't think that we had all our best players in the best form at AFCON,” he told Andile Ncube on SNAWA.

"It's a little bit difficult to comment because I don't think that the performance of the team and the whole squad was a true reflection of what we are capable of doing and how we are capable of representing ourselves at AFCON.

"I think generally when we went to the previous AFCON, we went there without expectations and without a lot of pressure but when people expect you to do well then you need to have all your weapons and I think in this competition we were not as prepared and that's just my opinion.

Broos and his troops will now switch their focus to the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup set to be co-hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada.