Bafana Bafana legend Doctor Khumalo feels Relebohile Mofokeng was “thrown in the lion’s den” when South Africa were eliminated by Cameroon from AFCON.
The Orlando Pirates star didn’t play much in the group stages, featuring only as a substitute in the group stage match against Egypt.
He was surprisingly in the starting line-up in the Round of 16 against Cameroon, where Bafana suffered a 2-1 defeat, bowing out of the tournament.
Khumalo believes Hugo Broos should have boosted Mofokeng’s confidence during the group stages if he planned to use him in the Round of 16.
He feels the 21-year-old was exposed against Cameroon’s physicality and should have been assigned a role better suited to avoiding strength-based battles.
“There was a lot of uncertainty in terms of the tactical approach. You don’t bring in three or four players that didn’t play in the group stages because there are factors that influence performance,” Khumalo said during the interview with Africa Five Side.
“First one is the mental factor, and then we talk about the social factor which is the second one. The social factor is me understanding you, trusting you and believing in you.
“But the players he brought, yes, they might have been together in the national team, but you build into a stage of a certain group.
“From the group stages, if he knew that in the Round of 16, he was going to use Mofokeng. Then build his confidence within the group stages.
“But you don’t just throw them in the lion’s den like he did. Look at Mofokeng’s stature, he’s just a skinny young boy like a mosquito versus those big elephants.
“Secondly, he was not protected because, I’m saying this because when I used to play for South Africa, I was skinny like him, but the coach used to protect me.
“The only thing I was told to do was being on the ball and forget about defending. Give him the opportunity to operate in the space that doesn’t have the physical contact because clearly, he’s going to lose the battle.”
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