Bafana Bafana assistant coach Helman Mkhalele reveals how Orlando Pirates winger Tshepang Moremi surprised everyone at AFCON

Tshepang Moremi is among the players that Orlando Pirates signed in the off-season to help improve the attacking department under new coach Abdeslam Ouaddou.

The 25-year-old had shown potential while at AmaZulu, explaining why the Soweto giants brought him on board.

Moremi has since played 20 matches for the Buccaneers across all competitions, scoring eight times and providing an assist in the process. 

His displays caught the attention of coach Hugo Broos, who included him in the South Africa team for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Initially, Moremi was seen as a squad player who could come in and make an impact when needed. With Mohau Nkota, Oswin Appollis, Elias Mokwana, and Relebohile Mofokeng ahead of him, the chances of him even playing were seemingly limited.

However, it changed after he replaced Nkota in the game against Angola, which Bafana Bafana won 2-1. 

The Pirates star provided an assist from which Lyle Foster scored the winning goal, and was unfortunate to see his initial strike canceled for offside. 

It even became better in the game against Zimbabwe as he found the back of the net in the 3-2 win over the Warriors.

The level of confidence exhibited by Moremi caught many by surprise, as assistant coach Helman Mkhalele explains.

"I was a little bit surprised because going into that game, we couldn't see that same confidence in training, but when we brought him in, he just surprised everybody with his confidence, quality, and discipline to stick to the game plan," he said in his interview with SABC Sport.

The former Orlando Pirates midfielder then opened up about the inconsistency that has been witnessed by the supporters.
"We are busy working on trying to find consistency, especially in our tactical plan. Right now, we feel that the team structure is very good, but now we need to be more consistent," the tactician added.

"Immediately after our day off, we have been working on that," the 56-year-old concluded.

Head coach Hugo Broos has now challenged his players to further up their game in the knockout phase since they are not seen as underdogs but as potential challengers.

“We have to know the progression we have made over the past two to three years does not mean you will come to the pitch and win the game. I said it before the tournament, this is going to be tougher than the one in the Ivory Coast," the Belgian told the media in an initial interview.

“This is because everybody knows we are a good team, and the mindset of the opponent is totally different. We have to adapt, knowing it is not going to be easy for us anymore.

“We have to play every game with 100% of our talents and qualities. If we don’t do that, we are always going to be in trouble. It is not like you are South Africa, and teams are afraid of you," he added.

Broos emphasized that teams will be going all-out to try and beat Bafana. 

“You have to fight more, concentrate more, be more focused, and not thinking it is going to be easy like we did after 20 minutes against Zimbabwe. 

"Something we have to know is if you want to go far in this tournament, this is the mentality we need.

“Because if we don’t, it will be finished quickly,” Broos concluded. 

On Sunday, Bafana Bafana will be playing the 2017 champions, Cameroon, in the Round of 16 on Sunday, January 4.

The Indomitable Lions finished second in Group F, which was won by the Ivory Coast, while Mozambique also made it out of the pool.

South Africa come into the match as favourites, having not lost any of their most recent five meetings against them.