Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos says he hopes any issues between himself, midfielder Najbulo Blom’s and his US club, St Louis SC are now firmly in the past, after calling up the former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder to his squad for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Morocco on June 17 at FNB Stadium.
Blom was named in Broos’ squad for the home-and-away qualifiers against Liberia in March, but was unable to make it, after testing positive for Covid-19. Broos was unimpressed with St Louis and Blom for a lack of clear communication on the matter.
“The test was done on the Wednesday, and they only sent the test result on Saturday. We didn’t know (what was happening), that is why I was so angry with Njabulo, he could have called, but he didn’t,” said Broos.
“But ok … I hope now for the future it will be good.”
St Louis confirmed on their official website, meanwhile, that Blom will be reporting for national duty, flying out after they have played LA Galaxy in an MLS match on Sunday.
Blom has been in good form for St Louis of late, and if he gets a chance to impress against Morocco, could well stake a serious claim for a place in Bafana’s final squad for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Midfield competition
Both Bafana and Morocco have already qualified for the finals in the Ivory Coast. With Sphephele Sithole out through suspension (the Portugal-based midfielder is injured in any case), Blom will compete for a place in the heart of the Bafana midfield with Luke Le Roux, Teboho Mokoena, and perhaps the surprise call-up in the squad, TS Galaxy’s Bathusi Aubaas.
Another possible candidate for that is 19 year-old SuperSport attacker Thapelo Maseko, but Broos explained Aubaas brings a physicality that he needs to the squad, and that he had been particularly impressed by Maseko in a preliminary camp held before the announcement of the final squad.
“I was surprised with what he (Maseko) showed us in the pre-camp,” added Broos.
“I saw a good player at SuperSport but from what I saw now he gave us more than I thought. He is quick, he is strong, he pleased me a lot, he has a good centre (of gravity) and a good left foot. He works hard too, he is not a lazy player, so I think he deserves a chance to be with us. We will see how the game is going (against Morocco) maybe he will get some minutes, but I also think it is time he was with us. He has the qualities, now he has to have the experience.”
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