International Career
Mphela scored a brace on his international debut against Seychelles on 26 February 2005.
He has represented South Africa 47 times, scoring 23 goals. He scored South Africa's only goal in the 3–1 defeat against Tunisia in the 2008 African Nations Cup.
Perhaps Mphela's greatest moment came in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup third-place playoff against Spain. Coming in as a substitute Mphela produced arguably the goal of the tournament with a free kick from 30 yards, which turned out to be the last action of the 90 mins, sending the game into extra time.
Mphela was included in South Africa's 23 man final squad for the 2010 World Cup. He played in the inaugural match against Mexico, which ended 1–1. Next, the Bafana Bafana played against Uruguay, but they lost the game 3–0. In their final group game, he scored the 2nd goal in a 2–1 win against France as South Africa exited the competition.
Mphela opened the scoring in South Africa's first international match following the 2010 World Cup putting South Africa up 1–0 against Ghana.
Mphela scored the winner for South Africa against Egypt in the 93rd minute with a perfect finish that saw the North Africans beaten by South Africa for the first time in competitive football between the two countries and increased the hopes of qualification.
Read more about this topic: Katlego Mphela
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