Thami Mkhize, Cape Town City’s Mr Reliable, hopes he can give Bafana Bafana the same solidity down the right flank if he gets his chance this weekend.
Rightback Mkhize is hoping for his fourth appearance in the Gold and Green when South African take on Nigeria in their quest to qualify for next year’s Afcon.
And the marauding defender is keen to help his nation keep their impressive clean sheet in their Group E campaign against the Super Eagles.
The 30-year-old says: “We all know we are playing an important game. We know if we get a good result against Nigeria, we qualify for Afcon, which is something we all want to do.
“Obviously we know it will never be an easy game. But we’ll prepare for them and hopefully we get a positive result.
“We have quality players in South Africa. We have quick and skilful players and if we can play our game, I believe we can win the game.”
He will compete with in-form Kaizer Chiefs star Ramahlwe Mphahlele for the rightback berth and he knows exactly what coach Stuart Baxter wants him to do. The City captain has shown many times that he is no slouch when joining in with attacks.
And he says of the boss’ plans: “What I like most about Stuart is that he appreciates my qualities.
“He knows that I’m a rightback and he sees me playing as a rightback.
“But he emphasises that I must always go forward more, because he knows that there is always an option for me to create chances for my teammates.
“And also when we lose the ball, I have the speed to recover and get back to defend.”