Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane said Relebohile Mofokeng has a God-given talent. He wants the 21-year-old to turn that talent into regular goals for South Africa.
Mofokeng scored twice in Bafana’s 5-0 win over Eritrea in Cairo on Wednesday. The result gave South Africa two wins from two games in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, IOL reported.
“Rele is a top player, he’s showing why he’s gone to Europe and he’s scoring by the way in Europe so he’s not just scoring for us and that’s the most important thing, Rele must score goals,” Mosimane said.
The goals ended a long dry run for Mofokeng in a Bafana shirt. According to IOL, he had gone 17 appearances without scoring for the national team before the Eritrea match.
His only earlier goal for Bafana came in a 2-0 World Cup qualifier win over Lesotho. That result was later overturned.
Against Eritrea, Mofokeng hit the post early in the match. He opened the scoring in the 19th minute after Oswin Appollis played him through on goal.
He scored his second goal shortly before half-time. He collected the ball inside the box, beat the defenders and found the bottom corner.
Mosimane said he spoke to the player about the role of a number 10. He said creating chances for others is not enough.
“We know what he can do with the ball, he’s a magician, an intelligent player but I told him he needs to score goals because number 10’s score goals not just only to give assists or play between the lines, you have to score goals but you don’t teach him anything, he’s just God-given,” Mosimane said.
Mofokeng has been scoring at club level since his move from Orlando Pirates to Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. He has four goals and one assist in nine games across all competitions for the club.
Three of those goals came in the Belgian Pro League. He also scored on his Europa League debut against Viktoria Plzen.
IOL reported that Mofokeng’s move to Europe could serve as a blueprint for other young South African players.
Mosimane has already spoken about building a new generation of players ahead of the 2030 World Cup. Mofokeng is expected to be an important part of that group.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Sport. Image: IOL Sport. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.