Mosimane ready to select ‘fatigued’ Appollis for Kenya qualifier

Pitso Mosimane says he will select Oswin Appollis if the winger is available for Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Kenya, despite concerns from his club coach that the player needs careful management.

Appollis has started only four of the nine league matches in which he has appeared for Pirates this season. Abdeslam Ouaddou has limited his involvement because of concerns that the Bafana Bafana winger could burn out after a demanding previous campaign, which included playing at the World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada.

But Mosimane rejected the suggestion that Appollis’ workload would affect his selection for the national team.

“We played once in two months, there’s no fatigue with us. So, the fatigue doesn’t belong with us,” Mosimane told a press gathering at Orlando Amstel Arena on Thursday.

“I choose the best player who is around and who is available, so I don’t overtrain, I don’t detrain the team… I just say ‘who’s available’, and if it is good for the country, I use that player.”

Bafana Bafana face Kenya at Orlando Amstel Arena on Friday at 6pm in an Afcon qualifier. The teams will meet again in Nairobi four days later in what will be their fourth Group D match in qualifying for next year’s Afcon.

Mosimane also identified Kenya captain Michael Olunga as a major threat ahead of the two fixtures, comparing the striker with Serhou Guirassy, who plays for Borussia Dortmund.

“Last time we were dealing with Guirassy here [at Orlando Amstel Arena when Bafana beat Guinea 2-1 in their opening game of these Afcon qualifiers in September] from Dortmund, now we have Michael Olungu we have to deal with. Same, copy, but Olungu is faster than Giurassy,” Mosimane said.

The coach acknowledged the difficulty of preparing for Olunga, who has not played in Kenya’s past few matches but has been recalled for this international assignment.

“So, it’s a difficult one and I think he [Olunga] hasn’t played in the past few matches for Kenya. He’s the captain of the team and he’s a legend of the team, so now he’s been brought back to the national team for this one.”