Ex-Pirates and Bafana striker a big fan of Evidence Makgopa

Former Bafana Bafana striker Sibusiso Zuma was left impressed by Orlando Pirates striker Evidence Makgopa.

The 23-year-old was part of Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana squad, which finished third in the Africa Cup of Nations. The lanky striker scored against tournament favourites Morocco in the round of 16, which saw Bafana win 2-0. For Pirates, the young forward has had mixed results, having scored just five times all season.

Zuma, who has 66 caps for Bafana, has defended Makgopa from critics.

“Our fans just say whatever they want, they can be on your neck, but I think our striking department played very well in the Afcon,” Zuma told Lorenz Kohler on Bettor Podcast. 

“To get performances in the midfield, you need players who can work hard upfront in terms of being the first line of defence. 

“Because if your strikers are not working hard, you are not going to see your midfielders. So our striker (Evidence) Makgopa did a lot of work in helping to defend while covering his position.

“It made our midfielders play very easy, but fans don’t see that,” Zuma explained. “They just need you to score goals, I was really impressed with him. Our midfield is getting there, we have quality in midfield.”

Zuma backs Pirates striker Makgopa to retain his Bafana spot

“But I am only still worried about our defence, we still need to get quality before we lose all these qualities in the midfield.”

Makgopa was sidelined for a month following his Afcon heroics for Bafana but recently returned to the Pirates bench. The former Baroka star has seen little game time since his return, with Tshegofatso Mabasa being their main striker. Since arriving at Pirates from his loan spell at Swallows, Mabasa has scored seven goals already in three months.

Makgopa has lost his place in the Bucs team to Mabasa

Mkagopa has a few more weeks to impress or he might miss out on a Bafana call-up in June. The national team will play two crucial World Cup qualifiers in June against Nigeria and Zimbabwe. The likes of Mabasa, Iqraam Rayners and Khanyiso Mayo have impressed this season but none of them were in the Afcon squad.

Pirates still have to play six more games, meaning Makgopa still has a chance to claim his Bafana spot. With Mabasa scoring goals left, right and centre, he might need to find his scoring boots very soon.