<<Print>>

The retired defender, who played with Fabian McCarthy at Masandawana, was also critical of the national team coach Broos.

Former South Africa international Jethro 'Lovers' Mohlala says he was not surprised to see Bafana Bafana fail to qualify for the 2022 Fifa World Cup finals in Qatar.

Bafana disappointedly couldn't progress to the third round of qualifying despite having won four matches in a row and drawn once, before losing to Ghana in their last Group G game on Sunday.

It was the Black Stars, who advanced to the next round after finishing at the top of Group G by virtue of having scored more goals than the South Africans, after they finished level on 13 points and with a +4 goal difference.

A dubious penalty awarded by Senegalese match referee Maguette Ndiaye in the 31st minute helped Ghana beat Bafana 1-0 at Cape Coast Sports Stadium.

“The ref played an important role for Ghana’s win. But experience goes a long way. Play people who have played in Africa who knows the tactics," Mohlala told Daily Sun.

“I don’t want to criticise players who were chosen to represent the country, but the way we played against Zimbabwe I knew we won’t come back with a win from Ghana."

Since taking charge of Bafana in May 2021, coach Hugo Broos has not called up 33-year-old midfielder Dean Furman, who was a key for South Africa for almost a decade, accumulating over 50 caps for the national team.

“You can’t buy experience. We needed someone such as Dean Furman who can absorb pressure," Mohlala pointed out.

The last time Bafana qualified for the World Cup finals through a successful qualifying campaign was in 2002 and Mohlala explained that it is imperative for Broos to blend youth with experience if South Africa are to qualify for the global competition again.

“When there is transformation, you don’t get rid of everybody in the team at the same,” the former Mamelodi Sundowns left-back continued.

“[Rushine] De Reuck has always done well with an experienced player like Grant Kekana at Sundowns. What is the reason of leaving Kekana out of the squad?

"The reason we wanted to play for big teams like Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates is that it was our gateway to the national team.

"Now the number one team has only one player in the national team.”

Mohlala blames Broos for Bafana’s failure to progress to the next round and he also feels that the current Ghana side is the worst Black Stars team in history.

“I think the coach’s attitude led us to where we are. What’s more painful is that we played the worst Ghana side," he said.

"If he wants to utilise the youth, he must do it in the Cosafa Cup. You can’t take soldiers who just started to war.

"You need experienced soldiers to guide them.”