There are no less than five players who could make their debut for Bafana Bafana in Saturday’s 2026 World Cup qualifier against Benin in Durban as coach Hugo Broos grapples with injuries and absentees.
Left-back Bradley Cross, centre-back Thapelo Xoki, midfielder Jayden Adams, winger Elias Mokwana and playmaker Oswin Appollis are the uncapped players that could make their bow.
Can they take their chance if it comes? We look at five players who made a stunning impact on debut for the national side and had a game to remember in their maiden cap.
JOHN ‘SHOES’ MOSHOEU
Match: v Botswana, 1993
Moshoeu had just returned from a broken leg that kept him out of Bafana’s early internationals and was given a first run in a friendly against Botswana.
He was already 27 and no spring chicken but ran the show with a mesmerizing performance that included a goal and left the Zebras fans in the stadium in Gaborone in awe.
The performance would be repeated many times in a Bafana shirt, but it was an excellent way to start. He would earn 73 caps in all, playing his last match at the age of 38 at the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations.
When talking about South Africa’s greatest ever players, the late Moshoeu is right up near the top of the list.
MBULELO MABIZELA
Match: v Egypt, 2001
Mabizela made football look too easy and his Bafana Bafana debut was the perfect example as he bossed Egypt in an international friendly in Johannesburg.
He had only just turned 21 but looked like a seasoned veteran at right-back in a defensive line that included Bradley Carnell on the left, and the centre-back pairing of Aaron Mokoena and Pierre Issa.
He was the stand-out performer in a team of stars under coach Carlos Queiroz and while the result mattered little in the greater scheme of things, Bafana knew they had unearthed a real talent.
It should have been the start of a 120 or more matches in the national team, but Mabizela’s story of off-field issues is well told and he ended up with just 45 caps, later going on to become the youngest ever Bafana captain.
KATLEGO MPHELA
Match: v Seychelles, 2005
The opposition may have been modest, but you can only play what is in front of you and Mphela became the first, and until recently only, player to score twice on debut for Bafana.
His goals came in the 2005 COSAFA Cup as South Africa beat Seychelles 3-0, and he might have got more had he not been replaced on 60 minutes by Rowan Hendricks.
Just for good measure, he scored the winner the very next day in a 1-0 win over Mauritius.
Mphela got a little lost in international football for the following four years, before re-emerging as a star of the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup that was held in South Africa and went on to score 23 goals in 52 games for the country, a very healthy return.
MPHO MAKOLA
Match: v Senegal, 2015
Makola was already 29 when he was handed his Bafana debut as reward for some good form for Orlando Pirates in domestic competition.
And he did not disappoint, running the show in midfield with a sparking display as Bafana defeated a strong Senegal that included Sadio Mane 1-0 in a friendly that was played at his home Orlando Stadium.
Makola had already curled a free-kick narrowly wide in the first half when he netted a superb winner from 30-yards late on.
It was a perfect example of his talent, but at his advanced age his stay in the national team only lasted a little over a year, in which time he won 11 caps.
VICTOR LETSOALO
Match: v Lesotho, 2021
Another one where you could question the opposition, but Letsoalo grabbed his first opportunity in a national team jersey by scoring a hat-trick in this COSAFA Cup clash.
He is the only player so far to net a treble on debut for the national tam, and just the second ever to get three goals in a game after Benni McCarthy’s four against Namibia in 1998.
It does seem incredible that there have only been two national team hat-tricks in almost 450 matches the team has played over almost 32 years, especially when you consider some of the dire opposition they have been up against.
He might have matched McCarthy’s effort but was substituted with 20 minutes remaining in the game.