Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi says hard work and sacrifices are needed for more players to join Mduduzi Shabalala and Thabiso Monyane in the national team and revealed the work that was done behind the scenes.
Monyane was a late call-up to replace the injured Nyiko Mobbie and made the field of play against Nigeria in their 1-1 draw at the Toyota Stadium, that took the national team one step closer to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Shabalala was an unused substitute, but prior to the games against Lesotho and the Super Eagles, he spoke highly of the talented midfielder – who he feels has shown major progression this season.
“It is always an honour to have players from Kaizer Chiefs represent the nation and we hopeful that in the future as well, we will have even more players, but that requires a lot of work, a lot of sacrifices from the players to be at their best, consistently,” Nabi said.
“As well we’re hoping that we will have more players in the near future, representing the national team.”
With just under two weeks break for the World Cup qualifiers, Nabi had the opportunity to work with the squad, that has enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season with four wins and one draw.
With a inflated squad and several new players, he confirmed it was about improving fitness and giving some players game time ahead of their top of the table clash against Sekhukhune United.
“We have tried to take advantage of this time, this international break to improve on two parameters, our physical condition and tactical principles, especially the first week of the international break, then as well, we organised a day of friendly games for the group,” Nabi explained.
“We had everyone involved, to give everyone minutes in the legs, because there’s many players who have not had enough time playing and there’s now players that needed to play for us to see…
“We’re heading into a very busy schedule, and we want everyone to be ready when they are going to be needed.”
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