“I congratulate him, certainly. It is not everyone who earns 50 caps," said Broos.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has paid tribute to midfielder Teboho Mokoena, who marked his 50th international cap in the friendly clash against Zambia this past weekend.
Mokoena pulled off another sterling performance in the middle of the field alongside Sphephelo Sithole before he was replaced by Thalente Mbatha at the break during South Africa’s 3-1 victory over Chipolopolo at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday.
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After the game, Broos labelled the Mamelodi Sundowns star one of the ‘very important players’ for the national team.
“I congratulate him, certainly. It is not everyone who earns 50 caps, and now he will even have even more (in the future). Teboho Mokoena has become one of the most important South African national team players,” said Broos.
“Teboho has been with the national team every step of the way since I’ve been the coach, which means he basically played all 50 of his games with me.
“It is a fantastic achievement, and everyone knows that he is very important to us. Everyone saw in the second half that we missed his game intelligence a bit,” added the Belgian coach.
Mokoena credits Broos, Baxter and Tau for milestone
Meanwhile, Mokoena paid tribute to Broos, former Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter and Percy Tau for helping reach the 50 caps mark.
“This is a big day in my life, I’m very grateful to have come this far,” Mokoena told SABC Sport after the match.
“Today [Saturday] is my 50th cap. I’m very excited and looking forward to the future. I’m feeling very happy, I don’t have words to express myself, but I want to thank coach Hugo because I started being a regular under him.
“I also want to thank [Stuart] Baxter because he is the one who gave me a Bafana debut. And I also want to thank everyone who sent me messages before the game even during the week. I appreciate it.
“I just want to give credit to Percy Tau because during my first cap he was around and he was the one who told me my time is going to come.
“Unfortunately, he’s not here today but I want to give him his flowers for always being there for me,” commented Mokoena.
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Tau, who now plies his trade in Vietnam playing for V League 1 side Thep Xanh Nam Dinh, has not been receiving call-ups from Broos recently. The former Sundowns and Al-Ahly star looks set to miss the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco next month.
