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- Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane feels that his side's conversion rate this season has cost some of his players selection to the Bafana Bafana squad.
- The men's national team boast eight Mamelodi Sundowns players for the upcoming Afcon qualifiers against Liberia, but no Chiefs players.
- Amakhosi players miss out on a Bafana call-up for the first time since readmission in 1992.
Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane has given his opinion on Hugo Broos opting not to select any players from the Soweto giants for the Bafana Bafana squad.
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The men's senior national team assembled in Johannesburg on Sunday ahead of a critical two weeks as Broos and his charges prepare for home and away Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Liberia.
The 70-year-old Broos handpicked 23 players to be a part of the squad, surprising the South African public by opting against calling up any Chiefs players.
This means there are no Glamour Boys in the national squad for the first time in Bafana's history since readmission in 1992.
Of the players Broos has selected, Mamelodi Sundowns boast eight players in the squad, while Chiefs' archrivals, Orlando Pirates, have three players.
Speaking to reporters after Chiefs earned a 3-2 win over Maritzburg United in the DStv Premiership, Zwane believes the reason Chiefs have no players in the national squad is because of his side's poor conversion rate of chances.
"I have always been saying this – this season, the only difference between us and teams that are doing well is not taking the chances," said Zwane, as quoted by iDiski Times.
"Today, we took our chances, and we won 3-2. Though it was not an easy game for us, we managed to score three goals which is a positive thing out of what we have been doing.
"Why are our players judged with creating chances and missing them, and all of a sudden, they are not good enough? So, it's normal in football, it's normal."
- Amakhosi have taken a total of 271 shots during the 2022/2023 season.
- They average 11.78 shots per match with 4.83 of them on target and 6.96 being off target.
- Sundowns have taken an average of 12.22 shots per match with 5.74 shots being on target. The rest is off target.
- Chiefs have a 10% conversion rate, while Sundowns have a 16% overall conversion rate.
- Log leaders Sundowns have scored 45 league goals. Chiefs have netted 27 goals in comparison.
*As of Monday, 20 March
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Zwane continued: "Our players will keep on working hard, and [we] will keep on pushing them. It is not about us not doing the right things in terms of coaching them or not them applying themselves on the field of play.
"If you can check all the teams, look at our team, the chances that we created. I was saying last week: Go and check the stats. Out of 80 percent that was created, Sundowns took 80, and we took only 20 to 30.
"It is the same number of chances created. They [Sundowns] are on 36, and we are on 32, and that is the difference.
"We did not score – unfortunately, we conceded goals we shouldn't have, just like on Saturday."
South Africa host the West African nation on Friday, 24 March (18:00) at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, and play again four days later on Wednesday, 28 March (18:00 SA time) in the Liberian capital of Monrovia.
