'His situation is not good': Bafana coach Broos once again protects Tau from public scrutiny

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has shed light on his decision to leave Percy Tau out of the final squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

After whittling down his original 38-man squad to the final 23 players who will clash with Uganda at Orlando Stadium on Friday, 6 September, and then travel to face South Sudan on Tuesday, 10 September, Broos cited two key factors for leaving out the Al Ahly talisman.

"Percy Tau, it was not an easy decision for me not to select him. But there were two things that I took in account, " Broos revealed during the live broadcast on SABC as he announced his squad on Thursday.

"First of all, Percy received a lot of criticism for the moment when he plays for Bafana Bafana, so I tried to protect him and support him for the game against Algeria, he was not there.

"But then you see after the game against Nigeria, it was again the same thing. So, ja, they don't like him for the moment, and they expect too much about him."

Bafana Bafana squad for their 2 upcoming AFCON qualifier matches against ???? 6 September 2024 at Orlando Stadium at 18h00????10 September 2024 (away) at 15h00 @SAFA_net @10bet_ZA @flysaa @CastleLagerSA pic.twitter.com/GWka4BwHYF

Back in June, Broos fiercely defended Tau, who had become a lightning rod for criticism after an underwhelming Afcon campaign.

Despite Bafana's bronze medal, Tau - typically a beacon of creativity - struggled and ended the tournament with just one goal and a solitary assist over five matches.

To ease the burden on Tau, Broos controversially left him out of the friendlies against Andorra and Algeria in March.

Tau, ever the fighter, wasn't pleased with the decision, but it was a move by Broos to shield his star player from the mounting pressure.

T