Sibongiseni Mthethwa and Iqraam Rayners will return to Stellenbosch as bronze medalists after helping South Africa to a third-place finish at the 2023 COSAFA Cup.

Bafana Bafana emerged victorious over Malawi in Sunday’s COSAFA Cup third-place play-off after recording a 0-0 (5-3) penalty shoot-out win at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban.

Stellenbosch FC’s Sibongiseni Mthethwa and Iqraam Rayners both featured as a second-half substitutes in the encounter, with the latter among those who netted his spot-kick during the triumphant shootout.

Sunday’s victory brought about an end to the competition for the duo who featured prominently throughout for the national team, starting three matches and coming off the bench twice apiece.

Rayners was also able to score his first goal for South Africa during the early stages of the tournament when he netted in a Man of the Match performance during the 2-1 Group Stage win over Botswana.

Mthethwa, meanwhile, climbed to six senior caps in the famous gold and green jersey, which is a new record by a Stellenbosch FC player, surpassing Athenkosi Mcaba (4) at the top of that particular table.