Kaizer Chiefs forward Mduduzi Shabalala says he is determined to help South Africa’s Bafana Bafana qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the crucial Nigeria vs South Africa World Cup qualifier set for Tuesday in Bloemfontein.
The 21-year-old forward was named in Hugo Broos’ squad for the qualifiers against Lesotho (Friday) and Nigeria (Tuesday), both at the Free State Stadium. For Shabalala, it is a dream moment to finally feature for the senior team in such high-stakes matches.
“This is a big opportunity for me in my career. It’s everyone’s dream to play for their country, so I am here to help the team win the games to qualify for the World Cup,” Shabalala said via Sowetan Live.
Shabalala featured in the Cosafa Cup in June, where Bafana lost 3-0 to Angola in the final. He believes that tournament played a key role in convincing Broos to hand him his first senior call-up.
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“It was a good opportunity and good platform to be part of the Cosafa Cup, to showcase and maybe prove to the coach that I also want to be in the first team of Bafana. Finally the coach saw me, here I am today and I am happy to have made the squad,” he said.
Bafana Bafana lead Group C ahead of Nigeria vs South Africa World Cup qualifier
Bafana Bafana top Group C with 13 points, five ahead of Rwanda and Benin, but face uncertainty as FIFA could still deduct three points for fielding suspended midfielder Teboho Mokoena against Lesotho in March.
Despite the looming battle with Nigeria, coach Hugo Broos stressed the need to first beat Lesotho.
“First of all let’s start with Lesotho. I don’t want to think about Nigeria for the moment,” Broos said.
“We must get a victory against Lesotho because if we fail to do that, we will have more troubles in the future.”
The Nigeria vs South Africa World Cup qualifier on Tuesday is expected to be decisive in shaping Group C, with the Super Eagles under pressure to revive their campaign after a difficult start.
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