Former Brent Carelse has shared his views on Hugo Broos leaving out Iqraam Rayners. The forward missed recent Bafana Bafana matches against Panama national football team.
Carelse believes the omission raised concerns about attacking options. He argued that form should guide national team selections.
“It’s something that people only talk about now because obviously we lacked a bit (upfront), I think Lyle was a bit off form, he didn’t give us what we wanted but I think those decisions it’s up to the coach and obviously the coach made the decision,” Carelse told Soccer Laduma.
He also stressed that goal-scoring form matters in selection decisions.
“But a lot of people would maybe agree with me to say if you’ve got a guy that’s scoring and is a top goal-scorer in our league, surely he needs to be there or needs to be considered.”
Debate Over Selection Decisions
Carelse acknowledged that coaching decisions remain final. However, he questioned whether current form received enough weight.
He suggested that in-form players deserve stronger consideration. Meanwhile, he noted that public criticism often follows poor attacking performances.
Broos Focuses on Strongest Team
Carelse supported Broos’ right to select players freely. He said the coach must focus only on national team success.
“Hugo Broos is obviously the national team coach and he needs to concentrate on the national team, he can’t worry about club football and who is playing for who,” Carelse added.
He further explained that squad balance outweighs club representation.
“He needs to put out his stronger team and if it means all 11 of his players are coming from one team then that’s the case and he’s not going to be worried about what people say and whatever they say, because at the end of the day he must put the strongest team out. If it’s all Sundowns players, he uses all of them.
“As a former player I also understand, because remember the players also want to play, so they won’t be saying ‘No, I want to rest’, if the coach selects me I’m going to play!,” he added.
Rayners Keeps Scoring
Rayners continues to impress for Mamelodi Sundowns. He scored in a 4-1 win over Chippa United on Friday.
Consequently, his strong form has intensified questions about his exclusion.
The post ‘Play him’: Former Sundowns star Questions Rayners’ Omission appeared first on iHarare News.
