When Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen was left out of the final Bafana Bafana squad to face Liberia, it told a gloomy story of how players at Naturena have gone from being national team players to being spectators like the rest of the country after joining the Soweto giants.
Petersen was the only Amakhosi player included in the 35-man preliminary squad before he was left out, as Broos selected Ronwen Williams, Veli Mothwa and Ricardo Goss as the three goalkeepers in the team to face Liberia in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
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During his time at Bidvest Wits, he was called up to the national team on a few occasions under former coach Molefi Ntseki, but appears to have seriously fallen behind at the moment, with other goalkeepers getting the nod ahead of him.
He is not the only one at Naturena who has seen less time in the national team. When former DStv Premiership defender of the season Njabulo Ngcobo and Austin Dube joined Amakhosi before the start of last season, they were making some progress in the national team. Ngcobo, in particular, seemed to be a player Broos loved having in his squad but has not featured for the national team since 2021 and is currently struggling to break into the starting line-up, even when there are suspensions or injuries in defence.
It's a similar story with Yusuf Maart, who has not been able to get into the national team squad as an Amakhosi player. He last featured for Bafana Bafana in the defeat to Morocco in June last year. He was included in the 30-man preliminary squad for the friendly internationals against Mozambique and Angola in November last year, but was part of the seven players who cut when the final team was confirmed.
At the time, Broos stated that he was not convinced with the player's form since moving from Sekhukhune United to Naturena.
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Keagan Dolly, one of Amakhosi's trusted attackers, is another player whose form has been questioned by Broos. Dolly returned to the national team in 2021 after some time away and then formed part of the team which played against former world champions France in an international friendly in March last year.
Some of the other players who have dropped out of the national team are Sifiso Hlanti and Siyethemba Sithebe.
Amakhosi's form has not helped the cause of the players and a big concern for the club will be how their signings have not really been able to progress after joining them, when it comes to national team selection.
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