Pitso Mosimane Discusses Mbokazi Return and Competition for Bafana Places

Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane has explained why defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi has returned to the national team squad ahead of the upcoming double header against Kenya.

Mbokazi missed the previous international break, during which Mosimane guided Bafana Bafana to three victories in the opening matches of his second spell as head coach. However, the defender has now returned to the squad as South Africa prepares for two important matches against Kenya.

The coach welcomed Mbokazi back and spoke positively about his attitude, quality and mentality. Mosimane also highlighted the challenges faced by players based in Major League Soccer (MLS), particularly the long journeys they have to make when travelling to join the national team.

According to Mosimane, some of the players spent approximately one-and-a-half days travelling to South Africa. This means they have to deal with different time zones, tiredness and jetlag before joining the rest of the squad.

“A good boy, a good player, he wants to play. A good mentality, good energy from what I saw on the games,” Mosimane said about Mbokazi.

“The MLS players travelled for one-and-a-half days to be here and time differences. We don’t adjust our time to their time, because we are a group and they just come in and gel in properly.

“The MLS boys are focused, they show they come from a good environment and most of them that we brought back into the squad went to the World Cup,” he added.

Mosimane explained that bringing experienced players back into the national team is also about recognising their previous contributions and giving them an opportunity to continue representing the country.

The coach also made it clear that welcoming returning players does not mean changing the standards that have been established by the group during his opening matches.

He believes competition for places is important, especially because the national team cannot always depend on the same players throughout every international break.

Mosimane further explained that several players who were part of Hugo Broos’ World Cup squad had been recalled because of the quality they had previously shown while representing Bafana Bafana.

Among those mentioned were Mbokazi, Lyle Foster and Thalente Mbatha, who has returned from injury. However, Thapelo Morena remains unavailable because of injury.

“We are as good as our last game, I think you know that,” Mosimane continued.

“We need to keep the momentum going after the results. In the national team we never have the same players easily back. We have injuries, we have Thapelo Morena out injured, we got Thalente Mbatha back from injury, so we also had to give him the opportunity to be with this group because there was never a problem when he was around,” he explained.

The Bafana coach stressed that players who are unavailable through injury must be replaced, and those who get opportunities need to be encouraged to perform.

He also acknowledged that there can be differences in quality between players, but believes South Africa has enough football talent to compete for positions in the national team.

For Mosimane, the main priority is maintaining the positive results while ensuring that every player understands the importance of contributing when given an opportunity.

Mbokazi return therefore gives the coach another defensive option as Bafana Bafana prepare for their double header against Kenya, with the competition for places expected to remain important as the national team continues its campaign.

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