Mamelodi Sundowns defender Lyle Lakay says the COSAFA Cup can be a launchpad to reclaim his place in the Bafana Bafana squad ahead of the bigger games coming up.
Lakay’s last appearance for Bafana’s main team was the first game of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Morocco in June last year.
At that time, he was named the DStv Premiership Defender of the Season after winning a domestic treble with Sundowns in 2021/22.
But since then, Lakay has not played for Hugo Broos’ team, missing the next three qualifying matches against Liberia home and away in March and also the win over Morocco last month at FNB Stadium.
Lakay’s fell down the pecking order after Sundowns loaned him to Cape Town City last season and the Pretoria giants also seemingly see no future for him at the moment.
Morena Ramoreboli’s makeshift team will face Zambia in the semi-final of the regional tournament at King Zwelithini Stadium at 18:00 on Friday, where Lakay was bestowed with the skipper role.
“Yes, every game I play, whether it is a club or national team, you play to win and do your best,” Lakay told iDiski Times when asked whether this is a perfect opportunity to reclaim his place in the Bafana set-up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers starting later this year and also the AFCON finals in Ivory Coast early next year.
“I think this will also help me with chances of being selected at the end of the day.”
Lakay, although his future with Sundowns remains uncertain, also feels the Bafana players make up for missing pre-season with their clubs by playing games of consequence in the COSAFA Cup.
“We take this as pre-season but at the same time we are missing out [with clubs], but at the same time we are also getting game-time, the fitness levels are there even though you are not training with your team,” he added.
“Sometimes the way the team is playing you can tweak it because the fitness level is there and once that is there you can always work on other things.
“In the COSAFA Cup, we are going to our fourth game and the teams are probably at the third game of the pre-season, mostly.
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“Like I said, fitness is the most important and we have to focus here on winning it [the trophy] and winning it will obviously give the confidence booster going to the season with our clubs also.”
