We are trying to bring out the best in Mmodi – Nabi

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi believes his winger Pule Mmodi would be a Bafana Bafana starter if he improves his finishing, revealing they were working hard behind the scenes to help him.

The 32-year-old Mmodi has arguably been Chiefs' best winger in recent games but it is his poor finishing, rather than his unrivalled work rate, that has thrust him into the spotlight. Mmodi missed another glorious chance in stoppage time of their Tuesday's 1-0 win over Magesi at FNB Stadium, where Ashley Du Preez came off the bench to net the only goal of the match. 

“About Pule, we work with him on finishing because we believe that if he improves on that, he's going to be a very good player. He's a player that gives you a lot of things ... defensively, 1 vs 1, attacking [he's good]. It's a click, when it clicks, we believe that he can even be a starter at Bafana,'' Nabi said of Mmodi.

Mmodi, who joined Amakhosi from Golden Arrows in July 2023, has yet to find the back of the net in the league this season, with all his three goals coming in the Nedbank Cup. All in all, Mmodi boasts a mere seven goals from 46 appearances in Chiefs colours.

Chiefs' win over Magesi ended their two-game winless streak as they had lost to Tshwane teams SuperSport United and Mamelodi Sundowns in their previous two outings. Amakhosi's next game is against Stellenbosch in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday (6pm). 

Against Stellenbosch, Chiefs will welcome back two of their influential players, Thabo Cele and Gaston Sirino, after serving suspensions.

Cele missed the Magesi game after accumulating his fourth yellow card against Sundowns, triggering a one-game ban, while Sirino didn't feature against either Sundowns or Magesi because of his red card against SuperSport. 

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