Tshegofatso Mabasa has revealed how he managed to bounce back from his disappointment of being substituted in his Bafana Bafana debut after just 35 minutes in a [FIFA] World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia in 2021.
The striker was buzzing at the time Hugo Broos handed him his national team debut three years ago.
However, just 35 minutes into his debut, the Belgian had seen enough to haul the striker off for Victor Letsoalo, leaving a long-lasting devastation on the player in the process.
"When I first got my call-up a few years ago, it came with a lot of pressure. At the time, I was doing well at the club and I was just really glad to be called up and to get that opportunity. But things didn't go the way that I had hoped they would, having played the first game being subbed off in the beginning of the game. I think it was around 20 minutes or so, you know, probably to this day I still don't know why that happened. And it hit me hard [in terms of ] my confidence. I started to struggle with confidence after that and it could show when I came back from the national team with the games that I played for the club," he told Bucs Camp.
"I was someone that was low in confidence and things weren't really happening for me around that phase. I'm just glad for the people that helped me get through it, family that supported me through it, my teammates at the time that supported me through it and they continue to encourage me every day that I am one of the best strikers in this country," he added.
Read: McCarthy's Desire For African Adventure
His Pirates coach Mandla Ncikazi has highlighted the improvement he has seen in the forward since his arrival at the club, while revealing how crucial he is for Pirates.
"The Mabasa that I found here, and the Mabasa that I see now, there's big growth. It's still the same person. How he thinks, how strong mentally he has become, how strong physically he is dealing [with defenders] because Mabasa had a shortcoming. That he couldn't play with his back on defenders. He would fall and the medics will have to run inside the field so many times. Not anymore, now he's a big boy. I like that part that has grown in him, except for him scoring. And I said this to him when he arrived last season. That you're going to be [the] leading goalscorer," Ncikazi said.
"But I can tell you for the club, we've got a very good striker. We've got a very good player, a team player who understands that sometimes he plays matches, sometimes he sits on the bench," he continued.
Read: 'How Football Saved Me From Gangsterism'
