Bafana Bafana and Molde FK left-back Samukele Kabini has made a surprise admission that he has not always been confident as far as the national team is concerned.
Kabini’s career has taken him from the Orlando Pirates development ranks, to TS Galaxy where he played two impressive seasons in topflight before moving to Norway. His performances caught the eye of former Bafana coach Hugo Broos who gave him his debut last year.
He became a regular name in the team and formed part of the travelling party to the historic 2026 FIFA World Cup where Bafana reached the second round for the first time. Kabini’s confidence particularly showed in the recent international window where he contributed to Bafana’s success in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea.
The 22 year old opened up to IDiski Times senior journalist Lorenz Köhler in edition 275 of the newspaper about how tough it was for him to adjust in the squad in the beginning.
“To tell you the truth, things were difficult for me,” Kabini told IDiski Times.
“I never had confidence… I was nervous. I don’t know where it came from. Before the World Cup, I wasn’t that integrated with the squad but after I started to get to know the guys, building relationships.”
“Everyone here is good, but slowly but surely I’ve opened up.”
You can read Köhler’s full feature on Kabini’s rise in the national team in edition 275 when you subscribe to IDiski Times media WhatsApp number for FREE.