“Tonight, my roomza [roommate] will score!”
Those were the words of confidence uttered by Mamelodi Sundowns defender Grant Kekana minutes before the game. This was during his private watch party in Craighall, where he was certain that Teboho Mokoena would be the man on the scoresheet for Bafana Bafana on Thursday.
Mokoena was the hero for South Africa when he scored a crucial equaliser for Bafana from the penalty spot in what was a game of consequence against Czechia in Atlanta, USA. This kept Bafana Bafana’s hopes of qualifying for the next round of the 2026 Fifa World Cup alive.
Speaking to Sunday World after the game, Kekana, who had Bafana’s 2023 Afcon grey Le Coq Sportif jersey on, with ‘Mokoena 4’ at the back, revealed that he was confident that his Sundowns teammate would make the difference on the night.
‘He will come alive and deliver’
“Give Tebza the world stage, the big crowd, and everything that you think is going to scare anyone, he will come alive and deliver, and that is what he did today [on Thursday. That is my roomza,” Kekana said.
“But I was exceptionally impressed with the overall performance of the team. That is what got us to the world stage. We just need to continue performing like this, and we will go as far as we want to go in this competition.
“But also, I was just really happy that the boys got the nerves out and came out fully prepared against Czechia. They understood that this occasion does not come every day … the World Cup comes once every four years and is sometimes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some.
‘A lot of doubters and haters’
Kekana continued: “I mean, we waited so long to qualify for the World Cup. Excusing the 2010 one, the last World Cup for us was in 2002, so I am just proud of the boys for showcasing what South Africa is all about.
“There were a lot of doubters and haters, but it comes with the territory, and the boys made us proud,” he added.
Bafana will now regroup, recover, and turn their attention to South Korea next week, a game which will be a must-win for them if they are to progress to the last 32 of the competition.
Hugo Broos’ men may be number four in Group A but are level on 1 point apiece with Czechia, and a win against Korea will take them to four points and make them one of the best number threes to advance to the next stage of the World Cup.
They will also hope that Mexico, who have already secured safe passage to the next round after their 1-0 win over Korea, beat or hold Czechia to a draw to ultimately keep their qualification hopes solely in their hands.
However, Bafana will have to achieve that feat without Mokoena, who has been suspended for the last game after picking up back-to-back yellow cards and will miss the next match.
Read More: Emotional Teboho Mokoena’s tears did not fall to the ground for nothing
- “Tonight, my roomza [roommate] will score!” Those were the words of confidence uttered by Mamelodi Sundowns defender Grant Kekana minutes before the game.
- This was during his private watch party in Craighall, where he was certain that Teboho Mokoena would be the man on the scoresheet for Bafana Bafana on Thursday.
- Mokoena was the hero for South Africa when he scored a crucial equaliser for Bafana from the penalty spot in what was a game of consequence against Czechia in Atlanta, USA.
- This kept Bafana Bafana’s hopes of qualifying for the next round of the 2026 Fifa World Cup alive.
- Speaking to Sunday World after the game, Kekana, who had Bafana’s 2023 Afcon grey Le Coq Sportif jersey on, with ‘Mokoena 4’ at the back, revealed that he was confident that his Sundowns teammate would make the difference on the night.
