With Bafana Bafana in desperate need of inspiration, young striker Lebogang Mothiba feels ready to step up to the plate.

The 21-year-old is primed to make his debut for the national team after getting the nod from coach Stuart Baxter.

Bafana are in a precarious position, with one point in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers after three games. Their hopes of going to Russia next year hang by a thread in Group D which is also contested by Senegal, Cape Verde and Burkina Faso.

Bafana will host the Burkinabe in a make or break qualifier at FNB Stadium on Saturday (3pm).

"It's always a good thing to represent your country. The thing is just to keep on working hard and it will pay off.

"When you come here [international level] you know you can play so you must trust yourself and believe in yourself and come show people what you can do," Mothiba said.

The former under-23 national team player landed in the country fresh from scoring a hat-trick for French Ligue 2 side Valenciennes in their 4-3 win over US Orleans last Friday.

Should Baxter give the Tembisa-born sharpshooter a run, he will be up against players he is familiar with in the French leagues.

"In the Burkina Faso team, there are some players I used to play with, also the keeper [Herve Koffi] is from Lille so we will see how it goes."

The 2016 Olympian said: " We must make sure we win the game and the next two against Senegal."