Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has delivered his verdict on Relebohile Mofokeng’s full international debut in the 2-0 win over Lesotho on Friday night.
A capacity crowd witnessed South Africa’s 2-0 victory over Lesotho in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. With 43,000 tickets sold out of the stadium’s 45,500 capacity, the match showcased significant public interest.
The Orlando Pirates star opened the scoring in the 60th minute, marking his first international goal for Bafana Bafana. Jayden Adams, also making his first start under coach Hugo Broos, added a second goal four minutes later.
The young Mofokeng’s performance earned him the Man of the Match award, capping off his 90-minute appearance in his sixth international cap. This result places South Africa at the top of Group C with 10 points, leading Benin by two points, with both teams having completed five matches.
HUGO BROOS REACTS TO RELEBOHILE MOFOKENG’S FULL DEBUT FOR BAFANA
Broos explained that the Lesotho game offered a controlled environment to introduce Mofokeng, as he deemed it too risky to do so in more challenging encounters against Nigeria and Benin.
Despite starting against Lesotho, the Belgian coach clarified that Mofokeng is not guaranteed a regular starting position in the Bafana Bafana lineup.
“You know, I cannot tell anyone that they are a regular [starter] in the Bafana Bafana squad. There are 23 players and that’s the first,” said Broos. “Secondly, I said before that as a coach you have to see when is the right moment to bring a player and I think this game was the right game for ‘Rele’.
“He played a very good game and this is what we need. When you put a young guy in the team as a coach, you have to always think that he can succeed. When he doesn’t succeed, imagine if ‘Rele’ had a bad game and everybody would start saying maybe it’s too soon, maybe he’s not so good, blah! blah!
“So, you have to help the player a little bit. I think I did that today [Friday] with Rele. Also, this was a good opponent [Lesotho] to do that, you can’t do that against Nigeria or you can’t do that for the first time in Benin because those are different games.
“From my side, I have to watch and see what is the right moment. But today, you saw ‘Rele’ how he was so confident and he confirmed it. I’m very happy with it.”
Broos and his troops next game will be against Benin on Tuesday, 25 March away from home. This match willl kickoff at 18:00 [SA time] in Ivory Coast.
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