Is Hugo Broos blaming Orlando Pirates for overlooking in-form Kaizer Chiefs' Thabiso Monyane for Bafana Bafana World Cup qualifiers? - 'When you see what has happened to him at Bucs, he didn’t play anymore'

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has explained his decision to overlook Kaizer Chiefs' defender Thabiso Monyane for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria.

Broos, who has already named his 23-man squad for the September qualifiers, did not include the former Pirates fullback, who has been in impressive form since joining the Glamour Boys.

Chiefs remain unbeaten in the 2025/26 season, and Monyane has featured in all four games.

However, Broos looked back to the time when Monyane was at Pirates and had limited playtime, and this, he says, influenced his decision.

“That was a guy that was on our list a year ago, and he played a friendly with us, I think, but it was more than a year ago,” Broos said on Thursday in Johannesburg, as per FARPost.

“When you see what has happened to him at Pirates, he didn't play anymore, and now he is back at Chiefs, and you see little by little [growing in form and confidence], but maybe selecting him for these upcoming games was going to be a little bit too soon," he added.

“I hope that he can confirm in the next weeks what he has shown us so far in the past few weeks at Chiefs, and then again, maybe we can be with him in the games in October.”

Fans have at times wondered why Pirates released Monyane alongside Paseka Mako, given the kind of performance they have shown since arriving at Naturena.

However, Broos has delivered his judgement on Monyane but has not entirely shut the door for the in-form Chiefs' star.

Instead, the Belgian tactician decided to pick Mamelodi Sundowns' Zuko Mdunyelwa and Siwelele FC's Nyiko Mobbie for the qualifiers.

At Pirates, Monyane, who made his debut two years ago against Namibia in an international friendly, had limited playtime because of injuries. Indeed, he only featured in 12 games last season.

Since Broos has hinted that the Amakhosi defender could be involved in the October qualifiers, the task for him is to maintain his good form.

Meanwhile, South Africa will host Lesotho and Nigeria at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on September 5 and 9, respectively.