Tristan van Gilst targets Bafana Bafana call-up after flying start with Heracles

South African forward Tristan van Gilst says he wants to represent Bafana Bafana after scoring 11 goals and providing three assists in his first 14 games of the 2026/27 season in the Netherlands.

The 23-year-old, who plays for Heracles, scored a hat-trick in his latest appearance as his side beat Roda JC 5-1 before the international break.

Van Gilst has attracted the attention of the South African Football Association (SAFA) in recent years. He began his professional career with De Graafschap after developing at PEC Zwolle and AFC Amsterdam.

He told iDiski Times in an exclusive interview that his South African connection comes through his mother, who met his Dutch father in South Africa when she was 27 before the couple moved to the Netherlands.

“My mother is South African, so she met my father in South Africa when she was like 27. After a few years they decided to live in Holland. Basically, my mother is fully South African,” Van Gilst said.

The Amsterdam-born player said he was raised speaking both English and Dutch, with his mother ensuring he remained connected to his roots.

“I grew up bilingual. That is a very big thing for me because my mother taught me to speak proper English from when I was a baby,” he said.

“It may seem like a little thing to me, but it means a lot because it reminds me of where my roots are. I also have a lot of contact with my family on that side. When I was five to 15, we went there every year to be with our family.”

‘It lit a little fire in me’

Van Gilst said playing for South Africa was not initially a major focus because he was concentrating on establishing himself at club level.

He became more seriously aware of the possibility after members of his family received messages asking whether he would consider joining Bafana Bafana.

“I think it first started when my granny or my uncles received messages about me potentially playing for Bafana Bafana,” he said.

“I had never really thought about it. I was not at the level yet to play for the national team. I always knew I was eligible for South Africa and that it would be an honour, but when the messages came to my family asking, ‘Doesn’t Tristan want to play for Bafana Bafana?’, it really lit a little fire in me.

“It became something I want to do.”

Van Gilst made his first Eredivisie appearances during the 2025/26 season and is now pushing for an immediate return to the top flight with Heracles.

The club are six points clear at the top of the Eerste Divisie, while Van Gilst’s goalscoring form has strengthened his case for consideration by Bafana Bafana.