Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos says teenage defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi needs to go to Europe soon based on his incredible performances for club and country.
The stocky defender has enjoyed a meteoric rise since being promoted from the Orlando Pirates DStv Diski Challenge squad becoming a mainstay in their defence and has now amassed three senior international caps.
He also won the Cosafa U20 Championship with Amajita that helped the side qualify for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations – which they won, without him, due to his emergence at Pirates at club level.
Slotting seamlessly into the Bafana set-up there were questions whether he should be with the U20 side of Raymond Mdaka for the U20 World Cup in Chile – but he’s now been propelled into the limelight with a Man of the Match display against Nigeria in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, producing a strong display alongside Siyabonga Ngezana.
“Mbokazi… this guy has to go to Europe, he’s 19-years-old, you see the way he is playing, it’s like he has 10 years experience at this level, it’s his second, third game with the national team – third game! You see how he’s playing,” Broos said.
“So let’s hope that some players can do the step next here [move to Europe] it will be very good for South African football really.”
Mbokazi has featured in all eight games for Pirates this season and started against the Super Eagles and Lesotho last week for the national team.
