Khune Questions Sustained Lorch Bafana Snub

(Photo by Daniel Hlongwane/Gallo Images)

Kaizer Chiefs legend Itumeleng Khune has openly questioned the continued absence of Thembinkosi Lorch from the Bafana Bafana squad, highlighting the attacker’s strong form for Wydad Athletic and wondering why the national team has not called on him since 2022.

Read: Pirates Face Key Selection Question

Lorch’s last appearance for Bafana came shortly after Hugo Broos took charge, and despite turning his career around in Morocco, he remains on the outside looking in.

Khune, who rarely comments publicly on national team selections, made it clear, in his Soccer Laduma column in this week’s edition, that he felt compelled to speak up because the 32-year-old’s performances no longer match his ongoing exclusion. 

“I’m not one to question a national team coach’s selections, and anyone who knows me will tell you that I fully respect the process and the responsibility that comes with choosing a squad, but I have to be honest with myself and ask a question that has been bothering me for months now: where is Thembinkosi Lorch in this Bafana Bafana team?

“I say this with nothing but love for the badge and the players who have been selected, but when I look at what Lorch is doing at Wydad right now, I can’t help but feel that his omission is becoming harder and harder to justify. The man is playing regularly, he is performing consistently, and he has rebuilt himself into the kind of attacking threat that any national team would want at their disposal.

“We saw him at the FIFA Club World Cup, and he didn’t hide, he didn’t shrink, he didn’t disappear. Instead, he looked exactly like the player we all remember, the one who can unlock a defence in a moment, the one who plays without fear, the one who understands the rhythm of big matches.

“It can’t be a question of age because there are players older than him in the squad. It can’t be a question of match sharpness because he is in a team where he starts, contributes, and influences results every single week. And it certainly can’t be a question of experience because very few in the country have played on as many big stages as Lorch.

“So I’m left wondering: what more does he have to do? What is keeping him out? Is it tactical? Is it preference? Is it something we on the outside simply don’t know?”

With Lorch’s form continuing to hog headlines, Khune’s questions have amplified a growing debate: has the time come for Bafana to recall one of the country’s most naturally gifted attackers?

Read: Chiefs Team Selection Questioned

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