Sometimes I just don’t know and understand how players and their agents think because certain things doesn’t need divine revelation to anticipate the future but still it seems as they an intervention from above it’s all that was needed. I’m have been looking at the current national team going into the the 2026 World cup and have easily picked up that the leftback position is the most vulnerable in the squad because beyond Aubrey Modiba, our hopes are fully in the hands of God with all due respect to others selected in that position.

While many have been critical on Hugo Broos’ final squad selection, I will personally be more gracious to him most specifically on the leftback position especially since he made it clear that Gift Links who has been consistently outstanding in Denmark, is not the player for the national team. The biggest problem of Bafana Bafana at leftback didn’t come as a shock to me because the minute Fawaaz Basadien moved to Mamelodi Sundowns, I knew that chances are high that we could find ourselves in this situation in the national team. The former Stellies Skipper was arguably one of the best if not the best leftback in the country while still at the cape Winelands side and even though joining Sundowns didn’t decrease his value, surely lack of game did and that’s why he’s forgotten man now and I can’t remember hearing anyone talking about him in recent times in relation to the national team.

After missing out of going to the last AFCON in Morocco, I thought his agent will reach an agreement with Mamelodi Sundowns to get a loan for the player to spend the last six months of the season at another club to play regular football and increase his chances of going to the world cup but it didn’t happen and now we have a serious crisis going into the world cup without arguably the best second leftback in the country and the pain is self-inflicted. At 29, it was the last big opportunity to play at the highest stage that football can offer and now the opportunity it’s gone forever. 20 years ago, Bafana Bafana went to the AFCON in Egypt and Ricardo Katza was played at leftback and player like Guinea’s Fode Mansare and Adel Chedli of Tunisia toyed with him all day because he was left footed but not necessarily a leftback and we paid a heavy price. No goal, no point, no victory because fullbacks plays a massive role and when they buckle under pressure, the whole structure collapses.

The absence of Basadien will be felt at the world cup because there’s a massive gap between Modiba and his deputies and considering Basadien’s overall quality including the adeptness at both ends of the pitch, it’s clear to see why he would have been the best choice behind Modiba but it’s what it is. Hopefully, some Agents and players will learn a thing or two about the situation.