Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos explains benching star Lyle Foster 

Bafana Bafana clinched their qualification for 2023 AFCON in the Ivory Coast after beating their hosts, Liberia 2-1 in Monrovia on Tuesday night.

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Liberia had come from behind to claim a big point in the first game in South Africa on Friday, with Bafana Bafana squandering a 2-0 half-time lead at the Orlando Stadium.

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Drama swiftly ensued following that result, with Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos seemingly ducking his media duties by sending his assistant Helman Mkhalele to the press. In the end, he was eventually persuaded to the face the members of the media, where he then expressed his great disappointment in the result. He also cited that as a reason he would not be answering any questions from the media.

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One of the few shining lights for South Africa in the game was Burnley striker Lyle Foster. The former Orlando Pirates striker scored a brace on a night that proved to be rather anti-climatic in the end. Now in a must win game away to what was expected to be a hostile crowd away to Liberia, it was thought that starting Broos his main man upfront would be imperative.

Why Broos dropped Foster

In what turned out to be a shock turn of events, however, Broos left Foster on the bench and opted for SuperSport United’s Zakhele Lepasa. That selection alone would’ve raised a few eyebrows but in the end it proved to work a charm, with Lepasa opening the scoring for Bafana Bafana. After the match, the Belgian tactician revealed why Foster had been dropped to the bench.

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“Lyle (Foster) didn’t feel well this morning, and we wouldn’t take a risk because I felt that we needed player that were 100% and again I think that the decision was right.” Broos said in his post-match press conference after the game.

What’s next for Bafana Bafana?

Bafana Bafana have still have one more game to play, which is at home to table leaders and World Cup semi-finalists Morocco in South Africa in June.