Swiss junior international Joel Untersee is the latest player developed outside of the local game to feature for Bafana Bafana.
KweséESPN assesses the fortunes of those who have come before Untersee, a right-back on loan at Empoli this season from Juventus.
DEAN FURMAN
Caps/goals: 44/3
Furman is still very much part of the Bafana mix and is a favourite of current coach Stuart Baxter. Born in Cape Town, he came through the development ranks at English giants Chelsea before making his professional debut with Glasgow Rangers. He knocked around the lower leagues in England before joining SuperSport United in 2015 He made his Bafana debut against Brazil in 2012 and has been a regular feature as a combative midfielder since.
PIERRE ISSA
Caps/goals: 47/0
Born in Johannesburg but raised in Paris, Issa was at Marseille in Ligue 1 when he was first called up by Bafana against France in October 1997, but was unable to play because of a knee injury. He did make his debut a month later, though, against Germany, and was part of the South African squad that competed at the 1998 World Cup in France, where he netted an own goal in Bafana's opening 3-0 loss to France. Issa spent the next eight years in and out of the national side, and played his final game in Bafana's disastrous 2006 African Nations Cup campaign. He is now a player agent based in Greece.
HANS VONK
Caps/goals: 43/0
The goalkeeper was born in South Africa but left at early age with his Dutch parents, starting his career with RKC Waalwijk before later playing for Heerenveen, Ajax Amsterdam and Ajax Cape Town. He made his Bafana debut against Zambia in May 1998 and played in all three games for the national side at the World Cup that same year. He also went to the 2002 finals but Andre Arendse was the preferred first choice. Retired from the national team in 2005 at the age of 35, but kept playing club football until 2011. He is now the Head of Youth at Ajax Cape Town, having previously been technical director at Heerenveen
LARS VELDWIJK
Caps/goals: 3/1
The most recent recruit, Veldwijk had never set foot in the country before playing for the national team, raised in the Netherlands with a father who was born in South Africa. He made his debut against Mozambique in a friendly in November 2016 having been overlooked for important World Cup qualifiers, but was taken off at halftime of that game and has not featured since. He had played in England and the Netherlands, and is currently with Groningen, but has had a fall-out with the club and has not been considered for first team selection.
RICARDO NUNES
Caps/goals: 5/0
There was quite a buzz when Nunes was first selected for the national team, like Furman recruited to the side by then-coach Gordon Igesund. Born in Johannesburg, he moved to Portugal at a young age and was a junior international for the European nation. He made his debut against Poland in October 2012, but nine months, and five caps later, was discarded from the side. He featured at left-back but is also a left-wing and it was felt the defensive side of his game was not up to scratch. Incidentally, he now plays in Poland where he is a regular for Pogoń Szczecin.
DAVIDE SOMMA
Caps/goals: 3/1
A promising striker whose career was cut short by crippling knee injuries, there was a huge amount of interest over him when he was first selected for the national team after the 2010 World Cup. Born in South Africa, he moved to the USA aged 11 and progressed through the schools system there. His Italian passport allowed him to then play as a junior for Logrones (Spain), Perugia, Pro Vasto and Olbia Calcio (all Italy), but he was with English side Leeds United when he represented Bafana. His debut was ironically against USA, but he had played just three games before he injured his knee in July 2011 and never fully recovered, his career effectively over at the age of 26.
MATTHEW PATTISON
Caps/goals: 5/0
Pattison was born in Johannesburg but raised in Newcastle in England, making his debut for his hometown club against Everton. He failed to nail down a place with The Magpies and later played for Championship side Norwich City before moving to Mamelodi Sundowns in 2009 to try and nail down a place in the national side, ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He was involved in the training squad in the lead-up to the tournament, but did not crack the final nod, making his Bafana debut against the USA in November of that year. He was never a regular and won the last of his five caps in the 2014 African Nations Championship.
MIKE ROWBOTHAM
Caps/goals: 2/0
English midfielder Rowbotham was a Manchester United trainee before moving to South Africa, where he married a local woman that enabled him to gain citizenship. He made his national team debut in Lagos against Nigeria in a World Cup qualifier in 1992, a game Bafana lost 4-0, and would play just once more against Congo-Brazzaville two weeks later.