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Cape Town - Amazulu left back, Marc van Heerden, made coach Shakes Mashaba’s squad for the upcoming Afcon qualifiers but recognises that it will be difficult to break into the starting XI due to the quality of full-backs in the country at the moment.
The Usuthu left-back was selected alongside two Orlando Pirates stars in Patrick Phungwayo and Thabo Matlaba while Tsepo Masilela was once again left out by Mashaba. The absence of the former Getafe and Maccabi Haifa player, who has come up against some of the best forwards in the world during his time in Europe, has caused a stir amongst Bafana fans yet again.
Van Heerden, however, is under no illusions on how tough the competition will be regardless of Masilela’s absence.
“We have a lot of full backs in the country, both on the left and right side,” van Heerden said to Sport24.
“It’s good to have that quality of competition because if you don’t have that competition there is now way to get the best out of yourself.”
The 27-year-old Amazulu player made his debut against Burkina Faso in 2013 and could get the nod due to his ability with the set piece but he is aware that Matlaba and Phungwayo will bring something else to the table.
“Everybody has got different qualities, and everybody is chosen for different reasons. On the day the coach will decide who has the right qualities needed for the game.”
When pushed for a comment on his future at Amazulu he understandably declined to comment.
