Lebohang Maboe made the big move from Maritzburg United to Mamelodi Sundowns, but you only really come of age if you perform for your country on the international stage.
And while the 24-year-old Maboe – the son of former pro footballer Sidwell – might have played tougher Premiership games compared to what Seychelles offered, he was nevertheless delighted with his display in the 6-0 thrashing at the FNB Stadium.
Now it’s about backing up that performance in the return Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at Stade Linité on Tuesday (3.30pm SA time).
It was hard not to shine for any of the South African players at the FNB Stadium against a hopelessly outplayed Seychelles outfit, who are ranked 189th in the world.
But you can only play what’s in front of you, and Maboe justified his selection, setting up goals for Lebo Mothiba and Dino Ndlovu.
“I am relishing the prospect of facing the same team on Tuesday and try to do even better than my performance on Saturday. We should win on Tuesday if we put the same performance as the one we put on Saturday,” Maboe told the SA Football Association website.
“I was satisfied with my performance because I thought I gave it my best. I didn’t preserve any energy and expressed myself freely on the pitch. I also played according to instructions and within the team structure, and everything fell into place.
Bafana Bafana having final touch ups ahead of Tuesday's AFCON qualifier pic.twitter.com/OK1Fxt4uHx
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) October 15, 2018
“They told me never to try anything spectacular, but play my normal game.”
Final preps ahead of Tuesday's encounter against Seychelles pic.twitter.com/TeJRVyg8YN
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) October 15, 2018
Bafana Bafana spent the morning at the beach, and trained at the match venue later in the day.
Relaxing ahead of the big game here in Seychelles. Bafana Bafana play Seychelles on Tuesday at 15h30 pic.twitter.com/tvjItwOyeN