Cpe Town — The USA-based Bongokuhle Hlongwane has been living the American dream while making his mark in the Major Soccer League for his North American-based club Minnesota.
The strong-running Hlongwane will be spearheading Bafana Bafana's attack against Morocco in Thursday's Africa Cup of Nations Group K qualifier in Rabat. He is one of the players around which coach Hugo Broos is building a national team for the future.
Although Hlongwane has been playing well and has established himself as a key player for Minnesota, he has not been able to score after 14 matches since he joined in January from Maritzburg United. He is always one of the club’s favourite picks for Minnesota’s marketing campaigns in the media.
It's somewhat strange for Minnesota fans because they had anticipated that the South African would be a prolific scorer, just like his SA predecessor Patrick 'Ace' Ntsoelengoe, who played for the club in the 90s. Today, Ntsoelengoe is still revered in the midwestern US state of Minnesota.
The legendary Ntsoelengoe is one of the finest footballers produced by this country, and among the first black South African footballers to play in America.
Hlongwane has starred more in his role as supplying goal assists rather than scoring. He says his Minnesota teammates have been creating chances, but he has not capitalized. He is at a loss for words to explain the goal drought. His name is a bit of a tongue-twister for the Americans, and they call him simply 'Bongi'.
“I won’t lie, but I don’t know what’s going on (why I am not scoring)," said Hlongwane, in an interview with SAFA media on Tuesday.
"I cannot say I’m not getting chances. The thing is I’m creating chances and my teammates also create chances for me.
"I’m always in the right place at the right time so I don’t know what is going on."
Hlongwane is a first choice for the national team these days and on Thursday he will be playing against a Moroccan team that suffered a nightmare defeat in Cincinnati a week ago. The Moroccans even failed to convert a penalty in their 3-0 defeat.
Since his national team debut in July 2019, Hlongwane has had eight caps and scored two goals. It may be a good time to take aim at the Moroccan defence as they look to recover from the thrashing in the USA. Hlongwane is very likely to be used as a left-wing in the team's expected 4-3-3 formation. Last time out, he had a few strong runs down the left flank against France, but he lost possession in the final third. Just passed the hour mark, he was replaced by the seasoned Keagan Dolly.
He is looking to produce improved performance and hit the target against Morocco.
“Sometimes I feel I’m putting myself under pressure because I know what I can do," said Hlongwane.
"At this stage, I don’t know what I can do to score. I’m waiting for that time to come, and I know that it’s coming. I must believe in myself and keep on pushing.”
Victory for the Moroccans will be crucial because after last week’s hiding in America they are looking to regain confidence ahead of the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, later this year.