The 19-year-old made his tournament debut as a substitute during South Africa\u2019s narrow 1-0 group-stage defeat to Egypt in Agadir and could feature prominently in tonight\u2019s crucial round-of-16 clash against Cameroon at Al Medina Stadium in Rabat 21:00 CAT.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very happy to be part of the last 16. We are tired, but we can\u2019t give up now,\u201d Mofokeng said. \u201cIn the Champions League, you witness competitive football, the physicality, the energy, and you get used to that. I think it taught me a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The youngster was instrumental in Pirates\u2019 run to the CAF Champions League semi-finals last season, contributing eight goal involvements, five goals and three assists. That experience, he believes, has prepared him for the demands of continental football.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Reflecting on his cameo against Egypt, Mofokeng noted the importance of mentality: \u201cThey play with physicality and mentality. We need to bring our A-game to beat their energy. Even from the bench, we have to support our guys and keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Despite limited minutes so far, Mofokeng remains positive about his role. \u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to be on the bench. Many players wish to be here, so just being on the bench is a privilege; you can come on anytime,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Known for his fearless approach, creativity, and technical quality, the School of Excellence graduate has already attracted interest from overseas clubs. Strong performances at AFCON could further boost his profile and open doors to Europe.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With tonight\u2019s clash expected to be open and fast-paced, Mofokeng\u2019s attacking flair could prove decisive if called upon.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–SABC\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":21935,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-21934","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates star Relebohile Mofokeng believes his experience in last season\u2019s CAF Champions League has equipped him for the intensity of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). ","published_date":null,"news_description":"Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates star Relebohile Mofokeng believes his experience in last season\u2019s CAF Champions League has equipped him for the intensity of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). ","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25411,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21934\/revisions\/25411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=21934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}