Bafana Bafana’s latest outing against Zambia delivered goals and flair in a confident 3–1 win at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, 15 November.
The day also marked a personal milestone that quietly stole the spotlight. Teboho Mokoena, the heartbeat of Mamelodi Sundowns’ midfield, reached 50 caps for South Africa.
TEBOHO MOKOENA HITS 50 CAPS
Oswin Appollis opened the scoring, Mohau Nkota added another, and Sphephelo Sithole sealed the result late on. Sipho Mbule ran the show with two assists, while Zambia grabbed a consolation through Sabobo Banda. Equally, the moment belonged to Mokoena on his half-century.
Coach Hugo Broos put the milestone into sharper focus, praising the Sundowns star for his consistency and evolution at international level.
“I congratulate him, certainly,” Broos told journalists, as quoted by SABC Sport. It is not everyone who earns 50 caps, and now he will even have more,” Broos said as he reflected on the achievement. “Teboho Mokoena has become one of the most important South African national team players.”
“Teboho has been with the national team every step of the way since I’ve been the coach, which means he basically played all 50 of his games with me.
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“It is a fantastic achievement, and everyone knows that he is very important to us. Everyone saw in the 2nd-half that we missed his game intelligence a bit.”
For Bafana Bafana, the win creates higher confidence ahead of next month’s AFCON in Morocco. South Africa will be in Group B with Egypt, Angola and Zimbabwe. The first test will be against Angola on 22 December.