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Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Hendrick Ekstein admits he is delighted to be getting his Bafana Bafana career up and running after making his international debut this month.
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The 24-year-old made his first appearance for South Africa as a second-half substitute in the goalless draw against Lesotho on May 14.
Since then Ekstein has featured in a further two games under Shakes Mashaba - in the follow-up game against the Crocodiles two days later (1-1) and the 2-1 win over Malawi last week.
However, he missed out on a berth in Bafana's COSAFA Cup quarter-final defeat to Botswana, although the playmaker is nonetheless thrilled to be part of the international picture.
"In the first friendly game (against Lesotho) I came on in the second half,” he told Chiefs' official website.
"This gave me an opportunity to assess the game properly during the first half. So when I came on, I knew what to add to the game.
"The coach also told me where to impact. We didn't score, but I learnt a lot in terms of what to work on for the second match.
"The pressure is always there as one wants to impress, doing well for the country.
"The experience of playing those friendlies was good. We had trained very hard and we wanted to succeed.
"I personally learnt a lot from these three friendlies."
