Bafana Bafana defender Rushwin Dortley says he never thought he would be playing in front of his home crowd so soon when the national team faces South Sudan in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Tuesday.

Dortley, who left Cape Town during the off-season to join Kaizer Chiefs from Cape Town Spurs, says he thought this would happen when he was playing in the junior team.

The left-sided center-back is set to start when Bafana Bafana play their final AFCON qualifying match at DHL Stadium against South Sudan.

However, coach Hugo Broos might be tempted to make changes to the starting lineup since the 2025 AFCON finals spot has already been booked. South Sudan’s stunning away win against Congo secured Bafana Bafana’s qualification on Thursday.

Even though their spot was sealed while they were on the flight to Kampala, they did not let up. They went on to beat Uganda 2-0 to top Group K with 11 points. They will want to finish on top of the group and remain unbeaten, a feat that has not been achieved in a long time.

“It was always my dream to play in front of my family for the national team,” said Dortley. “But I never thought it would be for Bafana Bafana. I always thought it would be for the under-23s or other junior levels. For them to see me play in front of them is a huge honor, and I’m so happy to see my family happy because they always believe in me.”

Cape Town was the last place Bafana Bafana lost an AFCON qualifying match at home, which was in 2007 against Zambia. Former Jomo Cosmos striker Christopher Katongo scored one of the quickest hat-tricks at Newlands Stadium to stun Carlos Alberto Parreira’s Bafana Bafana.

Since then, Bafana has not lost an AFCON qualifying match on home soil in 19 matches. They will hope history doesn’t repeat itself in this generation, which claimed the AFCON bronze medal earlier this year.

As Dortley has moved to a bigger club like Chiefs and is now a key part of the Bafana Bafana squad that has qualified for the AFCON finals next year, he says 2024 has been a perfect year for him.

“2024 has been really good so far in terms of my career, going forward, and playing for Kaizer Chiefs, which is the biggest club in the country,” he said. “It has been really good so far for me.”