Head coach Hugo Broos has provided his assessment of Mbekezeli Mbokazi, who could make his Bafana Bafana debut when South Africa take on Tanzania and Mozambique in friendly matches.
Bafana take on Tanzania and Mozambique on 6 and 10 June, respectively, with the next batch of World Cup qualifiers three months away and the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco at the end of the year.
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Broos has opted for a youthful squad that does not have a single outfield player over the age of 30. Additionally, many of those selected are yet to represent the senior national team, among them Orlando Pirates' Mbokazi.
The 19-year-old has arguably been the breakout star of the season, collecting four Man of the Match awards since making his professional debut at the start of March.
"Why not? If you know that they have the talent and the qualities, age is not important," Broos said on SABC Sport when asked about the inclusion of Mbokazi in his latest squad.
"And again, it is a very good opportunity now, it is not really a game where you have to qualify for AFCON or qualify for the World Cup. If you lose that game, yes, it is a disaster.
"So now, even if we lose those two games, we will not be happy because we want to win, but what's the problem? So, they have the opportunity to play, and there are guys from 19 to 20 years old who are maybe not ready.
"But we will see in those games, and there, those games are so good for them. We can judge them and see if okay, this one is ready, and this one is... Maybe we have to wait and see in maybe two or three years, and give him another chance.
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"Like, Mbokazi, Orlando Pirates did not release for [U20] AFCON. So now, he has these two games on an international level - a higher level even," explained the Belgian, expressing confidence 'TLB' will play in the U20 World Cup later this year.
"So it's a very good evolution and very good progression for him to do that. That is following up, and this is something I tried to install in the past years. It was not possible, for different reasons."
Most notably, Broos has not included a single player from Mamelodi Sundowns, who are preparing for the FIFA Club World Cup set to begin in mid-June.
