Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has spoken out on criticism that was received by striker Lyle Foster ahead of the ongoing AFCON.
The Burnley forward has been influential for South Africa, scoring twice and providing two assists in three matches, helping the team advance to the Round of 16 as runners-up in Group B behind Egypt.
Ahead of the tournament, Foster was criticised for having not contributed much as a striker in the matches Bafana had played.
Broos says it’s harder for Foster to shine when the team struggles, but when his teammates around him perform well, Foster has the intelligence to make a meaningful contribution.
“I think you need support as a striker, when there’s no support, it becomes difficult to do something alone,” said Broos.
“But when the movements around Lyle is good, then he can take advantage of that. He’s a very good striker, he’s strong and quick.
“You can use him very well and he scores. At the beginning of the game [against Zimbabwe], we were good, but we started to be bad, it was then difficult for Lyle.
“Second half, there was movement around him, he took advantage of that because he’s smart and knows where he has to be, he scored.
“We have to do that more in the next games and be more better in terms of passing, focus and concentration.
“We can have a good ball circulation, good movement using the space that the opponents give. And then we have a very good striker in Lyle.”
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