Teen sensation Mbekezeli Mbokazi impresses on Bafana Bafana debut

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One for the future! Orlando Pirates' Mbekezeli Mbokazi impressed on his international debut for Bafana Bafana when they took on Mozambique in Polokwane on Tuesday night. Photo: Alche Greeff/BackpagePix
Image: Alche Greeff/BackpagePix
On Tuesday evening, South Africans witnessed the first steps in international football of a player who could go on to become the greatest defender this country has ever produced.
Bafana Bafana beat Mozambique 2-0 after an assured performance at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. At the heart of the home team's defence was one Mbekezeli Mbokazi, who did not put a foot wrong despite playing international football for the very first time.
Mbokazi is just 19 years old, but his performance at the back was that of a seasoned veteran. He was always in the right place at the right time and knew what to do when he had the ball at his feet – attributes that are rare to find in a player so young.
Following Tuesday's debut, Aaron Mokoena, the only man to play over 100 times for Bafana Bafana, was impressed with Mbokazi, a player he once coached at junior level, and praised Hugo Broos' impact on youngsters.
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'I think this coach is one coach who will leave a serious foundation for us,' Bafana's skipper at the 2010 World Cup said during the SABC3 broadcast.
'I mean, these are international standards, senior international standards… I coached him at the U20s. He could play left-back, but today the interceptions that he had gave me the belief that he deserves a chance to be part of the squad.'
It's easy to forget that Mbokazi was playing in the Multichoice Diski Challenge at the beginning of last season. After he was promoted to Pirates' first team, he convinced Jose Riveiro and the rest of the technical staff at the club that he belonged at that level.
And it didn't take long for Bafana coach Broos to jump on the bandwagon. "I think what I saw from Mbokazi was, for me, his game is very mature. He takes good decisions, and he's a good defender – he's not the tallest, but he wins aerial duels," the Belgian Broos said in the lead-up to the June friendlies.
"He's 1.80m, I think, but he doesn't lose many duels. He has good positioning and reads the attack well, so yeah, he's a good defender."
Despite still being a teenager, Mbokazi has done enough to ensure that he gets more opportunities at international level, and South Africans should be excited about his potential. After Riveiro jumped ship and headed to Al Ahly in Egypt, reports suggested he was keen on taking the youngster with him. It still remains to be seen if that interest is concrete. Regardless, he is one player who will likely move abroad in no time.
Mbokazi should now just focus on improving and hope he avoids injuries. We have had players with his potential in the past. Rivaldo Coetzee was also just a teenager when he made his international debut, and big things were expected from the man from Kakamas in the Northern Cape.
However, an injured foot back in 2017 stopped him from moving to Europe. After securing a big-money move from Ajax Cape Town to Mamelodi Sundowns, it looked like he was going places, but more injuries saw him become a bit-part player at the club. Now at just 28 years old, when he should be at the peak of his football career, Coetzee is on the hunt for a new club after being released by Sundowns.
Mbokazi will be hoping none of that happens to him.
If Tuesday night was anything to go by, South African football may have found its next defensive lynchpin – a player with the poise, intelligence and hunger to go where few local defenders ever have.
But talent alone isn't enough. The challenge now is consistency, staying grounded, and navigating the physical and mental demands that come with top-level football. Mbokazi has made a statement with his debut; the real journey begins from here.
If managed well, and protected from the pitfalls that have undone others before him, this 19-year-old from Hluhluwe in northern KwaZulu-Natal could become more than just a promising player – he could be the standard-bearer for a new generation of Bafana Bafana defenders.
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