Hugo Broos is famously, or notoriously, stubborn in his team selection for Bafana Bafana, but his selection of Mamelodi Sundowns striker Iqraam Rayners showed that the Belgian mentor is capable of compromise when the national interest demands it.
Rayners was a surprise omission from Broos' final Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) squad in Morocco earlier this year. Lyle Foster had a respectable output of two goals and two assists in four games upfront, but struggled in the 2-1 round of 16 defeat to Cameroon.
Had Broos not relented, and refused to pick Rayners for the World Cup -- instead sticking with only Lyle Foster and Evidence Makgopa -- he would have headed to the tournament without a true in-form finisher.
Foster was recently relegated from the Premier League with Burnley after an abysmal season, while Makgopa was in and out of the starting lineup for South African Premiership champions Orlando Pirates throughout the season.
He picked up six goals and four assists in 24 league appearances, but fell well short of Sundowns striker Rayners' 12 league goals in 26 games.
Brendon Fourie - the former head of recruitment at Rayners' old club, Stellenbosch FC, summed up the value he brings to a team when he told ESPN: "Iqraam Rayners is a number nine that needs to be in the box and he will get you goals.
"He was playing out wide for SuperSport [United]. He's not someone that takes on tactical instruction the best, but if you play him in the middle, you let other players compensate for his lack of defensive ability, then Iqraam will get you goals."
Rayners might not be every coach's cup of tea, and has been in and out of the Sundowns team amid health challenges and competitions from the likes of Brayan León, Peter Shalulile and Lebo Mothiba, but as Miguel Cardoso learned together with Broos, Rayners is a tremendously valuable asset to any team.
Benni McCarthy remains Bafana Bafana's highest goalscorer of all-time with 31 goals - a number far below what it should be for a player with that honour.
McCarthy was not a walk in the park to manage, by most accounts, and had frequent disputes with the South African Football Association (SAFA). However, when the ball was in the 18-yard area, he famously delivered time and time again.
It was only right, then, that Broos implicitly acknowledged that the team needed more upfront than he had previously given them.
He has dug his heels in over snubbing Al Ittihad Tripoli attacking midfielder Thembinkosi Lorch, but this is the same coach who once admitted that he made a major mistake overlooking Themba Zwane for previous squads.
And on Wednesday, he gave the nation reason to believe that when it comes to Bafana Bafana, he may be the man in charge of the team, but when national success is at stake, it is not simply his way or the highway.