After he earned his maiden Bafana Bafana call-up for the two crucial 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Zimbabwe on Friday and Rwanda next week Tuesday, defender Malibongwe Khoza says he didn't expect it to be so soon.
The Mamelodi Sundowns defender said he has been working hard to get the national team call-up.
The 21-year-old is currently in camp with Bafana as they prepare for their must-win match against Zimbabwe at Moses Mabhida Stadium at 6pm and Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium. A win for Bafana, who are second in Group C with 14 points, tied with Benin, will put them within touching distance in their bid to qualify for the World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada next year.
With Benin and Nigeria set to play each other, Bafana are fully aware that they only need to win their remaining two matches convincingly to finish top of Group C and automatically qualify for the World Cup.
“I didn't think my call-up was going to come this early. But I was always working hard and motivated to make sure that I work on my next [target] and perform every game,” Khoza told the media earlier this week.
Khoza also feels the experience he gained at the African Nations Championships (Chan) helped him not only at Bafana, but also at his club Sundowns, as he grabbed the opportunity with both hands when it was presented to him.
That saw him regain his confidence, which also helped him to start playing regularly at Sundowns.
“The team [Sundowns] let me know when I went to Chan that they wanted me to gain the national team experience. So, I went there, got some experience, some minutes, then I started playing more and getting my confidence back,” he said.
“As players, we tend to look down on Cosafa and Chan [games], but I don't think it's supposed to be that way. Playing there is the way of getting experience for some players who can't break into the national team. When you go to Cosafa or Chan, you get national team experience and you grow and learn how other countries play.”
Meanwhile, Bafana suffered another setback after Iqraam Rayners was withdrawn from camp due to medical reasons. Rayners has since been replaced by Evidence Makgopa.
Relebohile Mofokeng was the first player to be withdrawn from the squad on Monday.
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