Mere backs Mailula, Matthews and Sebelebele for Bafana Bafana selection

Former footballer Vuyo Mere believes Mamelodi Sundowns forwards Cassius Mailula and Tashreeq Matthews, along with Orlando Pirates defender Kamogelo Sebelebele, have done enough to earn places in the Bafana Bafana squad.

The three players have been included in coach Pitso Mosimane’s preliminary squad for the 2027 AFCON qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea later this month.

Sundowns and Pirates will meet in the MTN8 final in October, although the venue has yet to be confirmed. Mailula has scored four goals in 10 appearances in all competitions, while Matthews has two goals and three assists from seven league matches.

Sebelebele has been a key figure in the Pirates defence during their MTN8 campaign, in which they have conceded only once. He has also scored one goal in the competition.

Mere said the players’ form suggested they were determined to catch the attention of Mosimane, who has a series of qualifiers approaching.

“What a way to start your selection of the team by having a pool of players in the MTN8 final,” Mere told iDiski Times journalist Lethabo Kganyago in edition 272 of the newspaper.

“This is where most of the players are selected from now because if you look at the World Cup squad, we had many players from Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates. Hence, I was a bit disappointed by the Kaizer Chiefs players not making it all the way to the semi-finals of MTN8 because it was going to help the pool of players for coach Pitso Mosimane to select from.”

Mere said Mosimane would face pressure because the qualifiers are close, but added that the coach already had knowledge of many of the players available to him.

“Obviously, coach Pitso, he’ll be under pressure because there’s qualifiers around the corner, but for him, the positive side is that he knows the players. He’s worked with most of the players before. Hopefully, he will be able to select a quality squad for the upcoming qualifiers, and I know there’s other teams that are doing very well.

“I mean, players are raising their hands even at the other teams. It’s good to see that. I mean, I’ve been impressed with Sebelebele. I’ve been impressed with Mailula and Tashreeq Matthews at Sundowns. You know, those players, they are raising their hands. It seems like they know that coach Pitso is looking for players.”

Mere’s full interview with Kganyago appears in edition 272 of iDiski Times.