Nkosinathi Sibisi says he is eager to play alongside Orlando Pirates teammate Mbekezeli Mbokazi when Bafana Bafana plays Mozambique.
South Africa will host the Mambas in their second international friendly match at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday night. The game will get underway at 7pm.
Bafana coach Hugo Broos has already confirmed that Mbokazi, among other newcomers, will get his first senior international cap.
Sibisi, who will be captaining the side, expressed his excitement to play alongside the 19-year-old rising star at an international level and promised to guide him on his Bafana debut.
“I’ve played with Mbokazi at club level, so there won’t be any difference here at Bafana. He’s a very humble boy,” Sibisi said ahead of the match.
Cautious of Mozambique threat
“He [Mbokazi] takes instructions well, so for me it’s very easy to play alongside him. As the coach has said, it’s the perfect choice for him to partner with me tomorrow [on Tuesday] … to give him that guidance and confidence to be able to take his chance.
“I think against Mozambique, we will be able to see the best of him.”
Sibisi stated ahead of the match that they have done their research and are cautious of the Mozambique threat, even though they are the favourites to win.
“It’s going to be a tough encounter. We’ve done our homework … we’ve seen their strengths and weaknesses.
“We know that they are a big threat in set pieces, so I think if we can deal with most of their strengths, we’ll have a better chance.”
Bafana go into the encounter at the back of an uninspiring goalless draw against Tanzania last week, and Broos said he is expecting a win, despite having a relatively new-look team for the two friendly matches in the absence of Mamelodi Sundowns players.
