Kabini reflects on unexpected first Bafana Bafana goal

Samukele Kabini says he was surprised to score his first goal for Bafana Bafana after initially looking to pass during South Africa’s 2-1 win over Guinea.

The 22-year-old left-back has been part of the senior national team in recent years and travelled with Bafana Bafana to the historic 2026 FIFA World Cup, where they reached the second round for the first time. However, he did not play in any of South Africa’s matches at the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada.

New Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane had previously indicated that the Molde FK defender needed an opportunity to play. Kabini was given minutes in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers against Guinea at home and Eritrea away.

He scored the decisive goal in the 2-1 victory over Guinea in Group D, before setting up one of South Africa’s goals in their 5-0 win over Eritrea in Cairo.

Speaking to IDiski Times senior journalist Lorenz Kohler in edition 275 of the newspaper, Kabini said his first thought during the move that led to his goal was to find a team-mate rather than shoot.

“I was so excited, I won’t lie, I wasn’t expecting that to happen,” Kabini told IDiski Times.

“So when I scored, I was so excited, I couldn’t believe it. When Coach Pitso came in, he was like the best thing to do for the team to win, pass the ball to each other when you see angles are tight. You need to give it to your teammate in better positions or it’s easier for them to score.”

Kabini said Mosimane’s instructions had influenced his decision-making before he eventually took the shot.

“So the best thing to do to help the team win is just to pass to each other and not be selfish. The reason before I shot, I looked up to see who’s coming and if I pass, will they get the ball or what.”

Kohler’s full feature on Kabini’s progress with the national team is available in edition 275 to those who subscribe for free to the IDiski Times media WhatsApp number.