Bafana Bafana centre back Mbekezeli Mbokazi received rave reviews as Chicago Fire won their opening home game of the new Major League Soccer season on Saturday, downing CF Montréal 3-0.
It was a home debut for the 20-year-old, signed from Orlando Pirates, and he showed strength, speed, and passing accuracy in the victory where Ivory Coast international
Jonathan Bamba, Hugo Cuypers, and Robin Lod scored for Chicago.
The win came despite the home side playing down to ten men from the 56th minute on. After a video review, Fire defender Jonathan Dean was shown a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.
Mbokazi started for a second successive game for his new club while Puso Dithejane, who joined from TS Galaxy, remained on the bench.
Dithejane came on as a substitute last week when Chicago lost their league opener 2-1 away at Houston Dynamo.
Also on Saturday, Bongokuhle Hlongwane started for Minnesota United as they beat Cincinnati 1-0 at home in frigid conditions.