It happened once again in the game against Czechia in Atlanta last week.With Bafana Bafana’s backs to the wall after the disappointing loss to Mexico, coach Hugo Broos turned to “Mr Dependable” in midfielder Thalente Mbatha and he produced a solid performance.Mbatha, who usually doesn’t get the limelight and flies under the radar for the national team, is not always a certainty to start matches, but always responds positively whenever Broos looks in his direction. Cast you mind back to the second group stage match of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) against Egypt in Agadir where Broos wanted to nullify the threat of Zizo, Hamdi Fathy, Mohamed Salah, Trezeguet and Omar Marmoush. Faced with an Egyptian side brimming with experience and attacking talent, Broos turned to Mbatha to strengthen the midfield with Tehoho Mokoena and Sphephelo “Yaya” Sithole. It didn’t work on that day as Bafana lost that match, but the Orlando Pirates strongman came to the party and a similar scenario played out ahead of the match against Czechia. Broos turned to Mbatha as part of the mission with Mokoena and Jayden Adams to deal with the aggression of Czechia who had towering midfielders Michal Sadilek, Vladimir Darida and Adam Hlozek. As expected, Mbatha gave Bafana balance in a deployment where he sat back with Mokoena and Adams was allowed to move forward when situations allowed because they did not have a recognised playmaker. There are those who have said Mbatha should have started in the opening match against Mexico where Sithole struggled with the intensity of the match and his mistake led to the opening goal. Coach Hugo Broos and assistant Helman Mkhalele. Picture: ( Gavin Barker/BackpagePix) Mbatha arrived at the 2026 Fifa World Cup on the back of a good season where he helped Pirates win the Premiership and was one of coach Abdeslam Ouaddou’s key players. Bafana will be without suspended Mokoena in the crucial match against South Korea and Broos will not be scratching his head in frustration as he has Mbatha. Sithole is available again after serving a suspension for that yellow card against Mexico and will be interesting how Broos will balance the midfield. If he sticks with the three-man midfield formation he used against Czechia and not having a playmaker, then there is place for both Mbatha and Sithole to join Adams. But if Broos wants to reward Relebohile Mofokeng, who refreshed and gave Bafana more attacking options during his impactful 45 minutes last week, then he will have to sacrifice either Mbatha or Sithole. That strong performance against Czechia has injected Mbatha with tons of confidence and his other advantage is mobility considering they are up against a South Korean side with pace and stamina. “Yaya”, who has struggled with confidence in recent months, has the bite and height but South Korea brings the threat of pace to the table and that’s where Mbatha could be ideal. At the back, things are straightforward for Broos because his central defence of Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Ime Okon is settled and Khuliso Mudau and Aubrey Modiba are on the sides. Wingers Oswin Appollis and Thapelo Maseko should be rewarded with starts again after their lively contributions against Czechia and up front it’s a toss-up between Iqraam Rayners, Lyle Foster and Evidence Makgopa. The midfield battle is something to look forward to, and expect a solid shift from “Mr Dependable” who prefers to do the talking on the pitch for club and country. Mahlatse Mphahlele is in Pachuca, Mexico.