Bafana cap not a worry for Thabo Nodada

01 July 2020 - 09:42
By Marc Strydom
Thabo Nodada of Cape Town City knows his time to play for Bafana will come.
Image: Shaun Roy/Gallo Images Thabo Nodada of Cape Town City knows his time to play for Bafana will come.

Cape Town City midfielder Thabo Nodada does not feel hard done by the fact that he has not received a Bafana Bafana cap yet, despite his name being mentioned for national team call-ups far more regularly than he gets one.

Nodada, 25, puts the fact that he has had one call-up to the situation where he hit commanding form relatively recently in his career, then hit injury.

He said he felt the call-up he received, without playing, from then coach Stuart Baxter for the back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Seychelles, was a just reward as he had started to boss the midfield for City around then.

Nodada was asked if he feels he could have had more call-ups as the Bafana head coaching baton has been passed from Baxter to incumbent Molefi Ntseki.

"Not right now. As we speak, no," he responded.

"No, I think if you look at my progression to when I really started putting a stamp in the midfield, I think you'd take it to midway through [former City coach] Benni McCarthy's first season [2017-18].

"That's when I really was on the mark and really was performing; I then got my chance.

"I didn't play, but the coach at the time acknowledged my efforts and gave me the call-up.

"And then you move from there - the guys went to the Africa Cup of Nations finals [in Egypt in June 2019], and I was injured. I feel like I really had a great shot had I not gotten injured ."