Mashaba eyeing international success

Midfielder Mzikayise Mashaba says he will not put himself under any added pressure after his breakthrough performance for South Africa.

The 23-year-old had a great season with the Free State Stars and was nominated for the Nedbank Cup Young Player of the Tournament.

It led to a South Africa call-up, which culminated in him scoring the final goal in a 3-0 win over Gabon in an international friendly on Friday.

“It was great to score, but the most important thing is that I was given a chance to play and I’m thankful for that,” Mashaba told KickOff.com.

“At training I was combining very well with ‘TK’ (Tokelo Rantie) and (Thulani) Serero and it didn’t come as surprise when we combined well during the match. I’m looking forward to getting more opportunities to play for the national team.

“But there’s no pressure … if I’m called up then I will give 100 percent. If not, I will continue doing well for my club.”

Like his team-mate Edward Manqele, who is on the radar of many Premier Soccer League (PSL) clubs, Mashaba is in no denial that playing for the national team will attract the interest of bigger teams.

“That is pretty much obvious and there’s no player who doesn’t want to play for bigger teams,” Mashaba said.

“We all want to improve our lives. But that’s not up to me. I have a contract with Free State Stars until 2014 and any club that wants me will have to contact my club.”