Puso Dithejane Scores First South Africa Goal in Friendly Win

Chicago Fire winger Puso Dithejane has his first goal for South Africa's senior national team, finding the net in a 1-0 friendly win over Egypt.

Dithejane, a 22-year-old rising star from Christiana, South Africa, joined the Fire this January in an initial Under-22 Initiative move from PSL side TS Galaxy. A strong run of form between July and August earned Dithejane his first call-up to the senior Bafana Bafana team.

The Fire's #12 arrived in Johannesburg last week for the camp, which consisted of two African Cup of Nations Qualifiers and an additional friendly. Dithejane was not named to the squad for either qualifying match as South Africa comfortably dispatched Guinea and Eritrea, but was given a debut start in the friendly against Egypt at Cairo International Stadium.

In the 51st minute of the match, which featured experimental lineups from both sides, Dithejane opportunistically capitalized on a goalkeeping error to run in behind and create an opportunity from a fairly innocuous counter attack. The winger sent center back Hossam Abdelmaguid to the floor, before knocking the ball into the otherwise empty net. It was the game's only goal as Bafana Bafana defeated Egypt for the first time since 2019.

Besides the goal, Dithejane did not find himself at the center of the action – he totaled 30 touches across 77 minutes, completed 5 of 10 pass attempts, succeeded with one of three dribbles, created one chance, and recorded two additional shots off target. Although he started on the right side of a 4-2-3-1, Dithejane did contribute defensively with three tackles.

Although MLS CBA rules state that players only cannot be forced to play a league match within 48 hours of an international appearance, and the Fire's Tuesday evening makeup game against Vancouver is beyond that window, it seems unlikely Dithejane will appear in the match. In addition to the quick turnaround, Dithejane will fly 6,500 miles (10,450 km) back from Cairo to Chicago.

Although Dithejane seemingly did not do enough in the camp to get a start in either competitive match, his goal in the friendly should bode well for his chances of earning a second call-up in the November international window. At the next set of matches, new national team head coach Pitso Mosimane will be expected to call Mbekezeli Mbokazi back into camp for the first time since the World Cup, as the Chicago Fire's All-Star defender returned from a long-term injury last week in a 1-0 win over Charlotte FC.

Dithejane would next be expected to play for the Fire next weekend when they host New York City FC.