Kaizer Chiefs head coach Fernando Da Cruz believes hat-trick hero Wandile Duba can play for Bafana Bafana if he continues to develop at Amakhosi.

Duba’s treble for Chiefs

The 22-year-old Duba bagged his first Chiefs hat-trick on Tuesday as they beat TS Galaxy 3-0 at FNB Stadium to reach the Carling Black Label Knockout quarterfinals.

Duba has six goals in seven appearances in all domestic competitions this season for Chiefs. That is already his best tally in a single campaign.

“I am very happy for Duba, he is a young player, sometimes he has a lot of ups and downs,” said Da Cruz.

“He must improve his consistency., he is a young player and a good player who is able to drop deep and to make runs. He is very good in front of goal.

“But he must continue to work hard and listen to the coach and maybe if he continues to work hard he can become a player for Bafana.”

Da Cruz was delighted as Chiefs bounced back from their Caf Confederation Cup exit to thump the Rockets.

The pressure was starting to mount on the Chiefs coach, with three consecutive Betway Premiership draws preceding Friday’s loss on penalties to Zambian side Red Arrows.

After a goalless first half, Duba scored in the 48th minute and by the 66th minute he had bagged a hat-trick.

‘Maybe we could have won 4-0 or 5-0’

“I am very happy for the players … they played four days before (against Arrows) and expended a lot of energy. They deserved to win (today),” said Da Cruz.

“Step by step we started to control the game (against Galaxy). We had three or four big chances in the first half but were not good in our decision making and technical quality.

“I asked them at half time to be more calm inside the box to score. We scored the goals in the second half and maybe we could have won 4-0 or 5-0. But the most important thing today was qualification for the next round.”