Chiefs’ Shabalala criticised by Khanye for ‘wrong decisions’

‘There are no excuses for him,’ said the former Chiefs star on the struggling Amakhosi.

Kaizer Chiefs attacking midfielder Mduduzi Shabalala has come under fire from former Amakhosi star Junior Khanye.

Chiefs’ Shabalala’s drop in form

Shabalala’s form was impressive in the first half of the season, and he even made Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana squad, coming on in the last minute of their victory over Rwanda that qualified the side for the 2026 Fifa World Cup finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

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The 22 year-old was then also named on standby for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals.

His form, however, has dipped this year – Shabalala does not have a goal or assist for Chiefs since November and has wasted several key opportunities.

The most notable was probably towards the end of Chiefs’ penultimate Caf Confederation Cup group match at home to Al Masry. At 2-1 up Chiefs needed one more goal to guarantee their place in the quarterfinals.

But Shabalala missed a glorious chance and Chiefs ended up going out of the competition when they lost their final group match away to Zamalek.

“Plenty of wrong decisions, I’m talking about Mdu,” Khanye told iDiski TV.

“I mean … how many chances does he need? He graduated from development. He ate football, slept football.

“There are no excuses for him.

“His decision-making, (and) taking on other players should be better than (his teammates’).”

Can Shabalala respond?

Shabalala’s next chance to give a perfect response to Khanye’s words could come on Saturday, as Chiefs host Magesi FC at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban – their final Betway Premiership match before the March international break.

Chiefs could finish as high as third in the table by the end of the weekend, if other results go their way, and they manage a second Betway Premiership win on the spin.

The home Premiership win over Durban City last weekend went some way to reviving spirits after a dismal run, which saw Chiefs slip out of the Nedbank Cup and Caf Confederation Cup, as well as basically out of the title race in February and March.

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Chiefs are set to have Aden McCarthy back to help out their defence against Magesi after the young centre back was suspended against City. Defensive midfielder Sibongiseni Mthethwa is also available again after suspension.