Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos admits he was not too excited about Mohau Nkota moving to Saudi Arabia but has been pleased with how he’s settled in – earning a sterling report about his progress at the club.
Nkota, 20, earned a move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq after an exceptional debut season with Orlando Pirates where he scored seven goals with five assists in 37 games after being promoted from the DStv Diski Challenge squad.
Prior to his transfer, he made his senior international debut under Broos against Tanzania from the bench, before providing two assists in the 2-0 win over Mozambqiue a few days later.
Now he’s earned a return to the squad for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria, with intel from one of the current staff members in the Bafana technical team helping Broos make a decision.
“I followed a little but because he plays in the team of Kopano [Melesi], the psychical [conditioning] coach, so we have good information about him, he played all the friendly games, I watched a game, I was surprised I could see a pre-season game, an Italian team and he played well,” Broos said.
“I heard everything goes well with him there, so why not take him and we will see – let’s hope for him it can go on the same level he had in Pirates.
“I’m not so happy when young players go to such teams but okay it’s a choice he made, let’s hope everything goes on how it’s been going now.”
Nkota netted a goal on debut for his new club, as they beat Al Kholood 2-1 in the opening day of the 2025/26 Saudi Pro League.
