Rangers midfielder Bongani Zungu's omission from South Africa squad explained as coach denies rift

South Africa coach Molefi Ntseki has denied any rift between himself and new Rangers signing Bongani Zungu as he revealed the reason for the midfielder’s omission from his latest squad.

Bongani Zungu was a big-name omission from the latest South Africa squad. (Photo GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Zungu, who last international cap came in a 2-0 defeat to Ghana in November 2019, was left out of the Bafana Bafana squad for the international friendly matches against Namibia and Zambia, which took place on Thursday and Sunday respectively.

The 28-year-old – who joined Rangers on loan from French side Amiens on transfer deadline day – has only made one appearance for his country since Ntseki took over the reins from Stuart Baxter.

In an interview on South African radio station SAFM, Ntseki insisted there had been no fall-out with Zungu after the player criticised the current state of the Bafana setup in an Instagram video.

“I’ve never had an issue with any of the players who are not selected. It’s only based on what we want to achieve. Most of the senior players were not selected because we wanted to give new faces a chance,” he said.

Zungu had only featured twice for the French outfit this season prior to his move to Glasgow after being frozen out by manager Luka Elsner due to his desire to leave.

Ntseki added: “He had issues with his club (about) moving to Rangers or staying at Amiens. It’s only in the last week he played for Amiens before moving to Rangers.”

Zungu could be in line to make his Rangers debut in the Glasgow derby away to Celtic on Saturday, 17 October.