Former Teboho Mokoena’s youth coach, Pitso Mokoena, has weighed in on the debate over whether the talented midfielder plays better for Bafana Bafana than for his club, Mamelodi Sundowns.
This comes after some South African football fans suggested that the 28-year-old leaves everything on the field when he is on national duty, as he does at his club.
The Masandawana star recently earned his 50th cap for Bafana in their 3-1 victory over Zambia in an international friendly at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday, 15 November 2025.
This milestone has proven Mokoena’s importance to Hugo Broos‘ team ahead of the upcoming AFCON tournament, due to be held in Morocco from 21 December 2025.
Mokoena made his debut for the South African men’s national team in July 2017 at the age of 20, under the tutelage of coach Stuart Baxter. His debut came in a CHAN qualifier, helping Bafana secure a 2-0 away win over Botswana.
In the current campaign, the defensive midfielder has already made 16 appearances across all competitions for Bafana Ba Style. Overall, he has played over 150 games since joining the club in January 2022 from the now-defunct SuperSport United.
PITSO MOKOENA DISPUTES THE NARRATIVE THAT TEBOHO MOKOENA PERFORMS BETTER AT BAFANA
Pitso Mokoena has come forward to dispute the belief that Teboho Mokoena performs better for Bafana than he does at his club.
“No, I don’t think so. But the other thing you should notice is the same situation as with Sipho Mbule: Sipho is not playing that much at Pirates. If he is given a chance to start the game, he plays until the 70th or 80th minute. However, when you turn the focus to the national team, he plays the whole game,” said Pitso in an exclusive interview with FARPost.
“For Sundowns, I think Teboho is still doing well. It’s a different story between Sipho and Teboho. At the club level, Teboho is still playing and making an impact on Sundowns’ performance and structure.
“So, for me, not much has changed when he plays for the national team or his club; he is still doing well at Sundowns.”
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