Al Ahly forward Percy Tau has revealed why it is timeous for Bafana Bafana forwards to strike the right chords and establish working combinations finally.
Bafana Bafana are set to play host to Namibia on 9 September and DR Congo three days later in two international friendly matches slated for the Orlando Stadium.
This time, coach Hugo Broos drafted a squad with a bloated forward line, including Tau and Themba Zwane.
Lyle Foster, Kobamelo Kodisang, Mihlali Mayambela, Themba Zwane, Zakhele Lepasa, Lebo Mothiba and Monnapule Saleng are on the list.
Meanwhile, Broos overlooked the US-based duo of Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Cassius Mailula, who remain part of South Africa’s best conveyor belt of strikers.
WHY IS IT TIMEOUS FOR BAFANA FORWARDS TO CLICK
And Percy Tau, who boasts 43 caps and 14 goals for the senior team, reckons this is the perfect time to create combinations ahead of the World Cup qualifiers and next year’s AFCON finals.
The 29-year-old opines that the rich vein of form enjoyed by Orlando Pirates’s Zakhele Lepasa and Burnley’s Lyle Foster must influence Bafana’s lethal strikeforce.
Zakhele Lepasa has been scoring for fun for the Sea Robbers, with nine goals in all competitions for the club.
Lyle Foster also raises the South African flag high in England, where he turns out for Burnley despite the team’s struggles.”We have Lyle [Lyle] doing, we have Zakhele [Lepasa] doing well. So we want to have that competition among us to get goals,” Tau said.
“But we also want to know which combination works well for us leading to AFCON and the World Cup qualifiers.
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“So we have time now to see what works for Lyle [Foster] or what works for the other one. So we have that time to create that.
“When the players are confident, then South Africa is confident. We need these players to come to the national team confident.
“They should be doing well at their clubs because we do not play week in and week out at national team level.”
The two international friendlies give Broos a golden opportunity to refine his arsenal as they await to learn their AFCON group.
In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, they were drawn in Group C, along with tricky opponents in Nigeria, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Benin.