The head coach of Bafana Bafana, Piso Mosimane, defended his decision to include Tabanga Matuludi in the final squad, even though the defender recently played his first official match of the season.
The 27-year-old player was included in Mosimane's 30-man list for the upcoming international window, despite not having participated in official games before joining Mamelodi Sundowns. Matuludi debuted for Sundowns in the CAF Confederation Cup against Al Ahli on Saturday, where he played an important role in the 1-0 victory and provided an assist.
Nevertheless, Mosimane emphasized that his choice was not based solely on the player's last game. The national team coach stated that he had been monitoring the defender throughout the pre-season and was aware of his preparation, despite the lack of minutes in official matches.
Mosimane stated: 'We conducted research, I watched him, I know he trained all pre-season, he played in several friendly matches during the pre-season.' He also stressed that player selection is based on performance outside of competitive matches, and training results are also part of his assessment.
The coach added: 'We do not interfere in club affairs and respect the clubs, but a national team player is a national team player. It also shows players that if they train well and do everything right, we observe them. We knew what was happening, but we are not choosing Matuludi arrogantly just because we want to choose Matuludi.'
Furthermore, Mosimane revealed that his interest in Matuludi predates his return to the Bafana squad. He noted: 'I have been following Matuludi constantly, since I was given the opportunity to become the coach of Bafana and long before I signed the contract.'
Matuludi's inclusion may give Mosimane an additional option at right-back as he prepares Bafana for upcoming international fixtures, since the regular Khuliso Mudau will be absent for an extended period. South Africa will face Guinea in the 2027 Africa Cup qualifiers at Orlando Stadium on September 26, after which they will travel to Egypt to play Eritrea four days later. Then Bafana will play Egypt in a friendly match on October 4, giving Mosimane three games to assess the squad and implement his ideas.