South African Under-23 midfielder Thapelo Maseko is hoping to find the back of the net more regularly after scoring his first international goal for his nation.
The South African side were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Congo Brazzaville at Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto on Thursday.
Love Bissila Mabiala opened the scoring for Congo Brazzaville before a second half strike from Maseko cancelled out the visitor’s goal as the game ended in a stalemate in Soweto.
David Notoane’s outfit will now take on the same opponents in their second leg CAF U23 Olympic qualifier against the Central Africans on Monday.
Maseko is now looking to establish himself as a regular in the team and is targeting more goals in the process.
“It was a special goal for me (he scored against the Congolese at Dobsonville Stadium last week). It was my first international goal, but it was a bigger goal for the team to bring us level going into the second leg of the tie. It would have been harder going to Congo while trailing by a goal, so I am happy I could contribute by helping the team,” Maseko said
“The mood amongst the players is positive. We are confident that we will win this match and qualify for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in June.
“My first personal goal is to win Monday’s second leg and qualify for the 2023 U-23 AFCON. We have a very good team, with the most talented players in the country, and we are capable of showing the world that we can do wonders.”
He added: “Like every player, I do have ambitions of playing abroad. I draw inspiration from players like Percy Tau because he plays the same position. I look at most of his games and I try to learn from him because he is a good player who made his mark abroad. Whenever I get a chance to chat with him, I ask him about life on the other side of the world (playing overseas).
“It’s difficult to answer a question about what I do outside of football because everything I do revolves around the sport. But as part of improving my mental health, I play a lot of video games. If I was not a professional footballer I would probably be a professional gamer. I usually go shopping and when I am home, I maximize my time with family,” he concluded.
Photo by Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
