Orlando Pirates skipper Innocent Maela reckons there’s still a lot to come from his teammates Thalente Mbatha and Relebohile Mofokeng, who have recently become national sensations due to their exploits with Bafana Bafana.
Mbatha and Mofokeng played a key role as South Africa bagged four points out of a possible six in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Uganda and South Sudan.
Mbatha, who made his national team debut against Uganda on Friday, was the star of the qualifiers despite playing a mere 29 minutes off the bench on two occasions.
The 24-year-old exciting midfielder endeared himself in the hearts of South Africans when he came off the bench to score crucial goals in both matches.
Against Ugandan Cranes, he played nine minutes and scored at the death to earn Bafana a 2-2 draw at home.
The player from KwaMashu township in Durban played 19 minutes in South Sudan on Tuesday and was again the saviour with a late strike that earned Bafana the 3-2 victory.
Mofokeng, 19, made his debut against Zimbabwe in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in June, playing just a minute.
It was against Uganda and South Sudan where the exceptionally gifted youngster got to dazzle and continued to earn plaudits as he had been doing at club level.
Speaking to the media during Nedbank and Pirates’ handover of the multipurpose sports court at Job Rathebe Secondary School in Orlando, Maela had nothing but praise for his teammates.
“We are so proud of them,” Maela said.
“My message to them is that this is the beginning, and they can look forward now with confidence and believe that they belong in the space.
“They must just keep on working hard and stay humble.
“Hopefully, they get to achieve many more caps and big things with the national team.”
Mbatha, Mofokeng, goalkeeper Sipho Chaine, who made his national team debut against South Sudan, and Patrick Maswanganyi will join the Sea Robbers for a trip to Botswana this weekend.
The Soweto giants have an important CAF Champions League meeting with Jwaneng Galaxy at Botswana National Stadium in Gaborone on Saturday at 16:00, South African time.
This is the first leg of the second preliminary round. The winner after the two-legged tie will proceed to the group stages.
Two Goals in two matches for Thalente Mbatha in Bafana Bafana colours
— SHELDON ⚽ (@Sheldon_RS17) September 10, 2024
The similarities in the two goals 🔥⚽⚽ pic.twitter.com/87cvkkXtAL
