Bafana Bafana midfielder Ndamulelo Maphangule has reflected on his senior national team debut saying his teammates including Relebohile Mofokeng made it special.
The 28-year-old made Hugo Broos’ squad for the first time in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin in March, coming on as a substitute in the 2-0 win over Likwena in his hometown. Maphangule has since been part of the Bafana squad that qualified for the CHAN tournament and is also in the team that’s preparing for the international friendlies against Tanzania and Mozambique this week.
Maphangule spoke to iDiski Times writer Lethabo Kganyago in edition 207 of the newspaper where he remembered how captain Ronwen Williams made sure the ball went out so he could come on and how Mofokeng called to throw the ball at him so that he could finish the game having touched the ball. The player said all these gestures made him feel at home.
“You know those moments really showed the brotherhood in the team for me,” Maphangule told iDiski Times.
“Those are the things that make a player feel welcomed in the squad because even the players on the bench were shouting that the guys on the pitch let the ball out so I could come on and make my debut.
“Even Rele wanted to make sure that I get to touch the ball before the game ends, that’s why he was calling me to quickly avail myself for the throw-in. That made me really happy and made me feel welcomed in the squad.
“I mean you also saw at the end of the game how the guys ran to me patting me. I really felt at home.”
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