Teboho Mokoena is quickly rising up the list of Bafana Bafana midfielders with the most goals, writes Nick Said.
Teboho Mokoena may have courted controversy, through no fault of his own, with his yellow card suspension saga when Bafana Bafana hosted Lesotho in a World Cup qualifier in March, but his influence on the national team is undeniable.
The 28-year-old has been a major reason behind the team’s revival under coach Hugo Broos, and a source of goals and assists from what is at times a deep-lying midfield role.
He has scored nine goals in his 45 caps to date and his first came in Bafana’s record win, a 6–0 victory over Seychelles in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
That was his third cap. He scored again in a 3–1 World Cup qualifier win over Ethiopia in October 2021, and against Zimbabwe in the same campaign in the 2022 preliminaries.
He also netted versus Botswana in a friendly, before two more goals in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals against Morocco with a screamer and Nigeria from the penalty-spot.
He bagged a brace in the 5–0 demolition of Congo in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, and another against South Sudan as Bafana won 3–0 in November last year.
So where does his tally place him on the all-time list of Bafana midfielder scorers? The answer to that is joint fifth, alongside a South African legend.
One goal behind Mokoena with eight each are current Bafana assistant coach Helman Mkhalele and the late Shoes Moshoeu. Doctor Khumalo, considered one of South Africa’s greatest players, also managed nine goals in his 50 caps, giving Mokoena a slightly better conversion rate.
There are four players ahead of them. Teko Modise (66 caps) and winger Delron Buckley (73) both managed 10 goals in a Bafana jersey.
But the honour of most goals by a midfielder for Bafana is shared by two players on 12, one who is still active, albeit returning from long-term injury.
Former winger Siphiwe Tshabalala scored some iconic Bafana goals, including perhaps the most famous, that strike against Mexico in the opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
He didn’t do tap-ins, his goals were generally belters. Alongside him is Themba Zwane, also with 12 goals.
The Mamelodi Sundowns star has been a key player in the national team of late and his absence due to an achilles problem has been felt with the control and goal-threat he brings to games.
Zwane, at the age of 35, may or may not get to add to his tally, but Mokoena surely will and so the smart money is likely to be on the latter to finish his career in the lead, especially as he is the team’s designated penalty-taker.
