'Thembinkosi Lorch must win the right to regain trust of Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos as Themba Zwane did' says MC Alger coach Rhulani Mokwena

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has overlooked Thembinkosi Lorch from his squad despite Nyoso's recent showings.

The Belgian coach said in a recent interview that the former Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates attacker has no chance of making his team.

This is despite Lorch's good form for Wyadad Athletic Club, where he has scored five goals in the nine games across all competitions.

The forthcoming international friendly match against Zambia, to be played on Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, was the perfect moment for Broos to try Nyoso but let it pass. 

MC Alger coach Rhulani Mokwena believes Lorch has massive talent and can help Bafana Bafana. He feels the 31-year-old should be given a chance, but he should also do his part by winning the trust of the 73-year-old.

“I think in this moment, we’ve got a head coach in Hugo Broos, who is doing a very, very good job,” he told the media.

“I think he’s done incredibly well for the country. He’s done incredibly well for the players. There’s a very strong sense of trust and a good rapport between him and the players. And that’s very, very important at this level. And I think we’ve just got to continue to go in the direction that he has chosen.

“It might not necessarily be a direction that I, for one, agree with, or maybe you agree with on many aspects, but I think with the success that he’s had, he has worked to deserve a little bit of credit to make certain executive decisions that we might not all agree with," Mokwena added.

“But I think in the success that he has had, I think he deserves to continue to lead us the way he has been leading us, and to receive all our support. I think it is the most important for me, is to continue to support the coach and continue to support the boys, because what they are doing as a country is incredible.

“And for Lorch, he just needs to have a look at Themba Zwane as a source of inspiration, because Themba was in the same position as he is in at this moment in time, just a few months ago," the former Mamelodi Sundowns tactician emphasized. 

Mokwena recalled how he pushed Themba Zwane to work hard during his time at Sundowns before eventually getting another chance with the national team.

“And I remember saying to to Mshishi, ‘You’ve got to be so good; so so good that it’s difficult to ignore you’, and that’s exactly what Mshishi did.

“You know Themba Zwane was so good that even though the coach at that time felt that he didn’t want Themba Zwane for reasons that we had to respect, for sure, also because he mentioned them. 

"Also, to the credit of Hugo Broos, he mentioned that that was one of the things that he felt he, in the earlier parts of his reign as a head coach, he had gotten wrong, and for a coach to say this publicly, you’ve got to also give a lot of credit to Hugo Broos for this," Mokwena further stated.

“And so that means that if he could rescind his opinion about Themba Zwane, I think for sure he if Lorch continues the way he is doing.

"I hear very good things from Wydad, from the president, who I speak to quite regularly, about his conduct and about his professionalism, about his performance, about his character in the change room. If, he continues like this for sure there are a lot of possibilities to be reinducted in the Bafana fold," the 38-year-old concluded. 

From the look of things, it is highly unlikely that Lorch will make the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations squad as Broos, seemingly, has his mind set on his attacking options.

However, if he continues like that, he might be considered for the 2026 World Cup that will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. He shone in the 2025 Club World Cup, which shows his potential.

It is about him to continue delivering for Wydad Casablanca across all competitions.