Fernando da Cruz tips Duba for Bafana nod

27.10.26 FT League Cup

Kaizer Chiefs

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TS Galaxy

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Kaizer Chiefs head coach Fernando da Cruz has backed Wandile Duba to break into the Bafana Bafana set-up after his heroics against TS Galaxy in the Carling Knockout Cup round of 16 on Tuesday night.

The 22-year-old striker scored a second half hat-trick to help the Glamour Boys advance to the quarter-final of the League Cup, having crashed out in the first round last season.

Amakhosi will discover their opponents in the next stage of the competition on Wednesday, with the draw set to be conducted after the last fixture of the round of 16 between Durban City and Stellenbosch FC.

Da Cruz, meanwhile, expressed delight at Duba's exploits and clinical edge in front of goal against the Rockets, and challenged the Chiefs academy graduate to be more consistent in his performances.

“I'm very happy for Duba because he's a young player, sometimes he has a lot of up and downs. So, he must improve his consistency,” said the Chiefs boss through a translation by physical trainer Julien Le Heran.

"He's a good player, he's able to drop, he's able to make deep runs, he's very good in front of the goal.

With Duba sitting on an impressive six goals in seven appearances across all competitions thus far this season, the French tactician believes that the centre-forward can grow into a national team player.

“But he must continue to work hard, to listen to the coach, and maybe if he continues to work very hard he can become a player for Bafana Bafana,” da Cruz added.

Chiefs will now turn their attention to the much-awaited Soweto derby against bitter rivals Orlando Pirates in a Betway Premiership encounter to be staged at FNB Stadium on Saturday, 31 October.

Hlayisani Magoro

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Football journalist from South Africa covering African football news, exclusive stories and key events while sharing insights with passionate fans of the game.

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