‘Benni is the GOAT but…’ – Lyle Foster opens up on ambition to overtake Bafana legend

Bafana Bafana forward Lyle Foster has not hidden his desire to break South Africa’s all-time scoring record held by Benni McCarthy.

McCarthy banged in 31 goals for Bafana Bafana in 79 appearances between 1997 and 2012 and his record has not been broken since.

However, Foster, who has nine goals in 31 games for the national team, feels he could be the man to finally end McCarthy’s stranglehold of the record, if he continues impressing for Hugo Broos’ side.  

Foster hungry for McCarthy’s record

“Benni is the GOAT… lots of love for him,” Foster told iDiski Times. “I can’t lie to you, you know and say I don’t think of it, I never thought of it before the skipper mentioned it to me – it’s not something I go into every game thinking about, but if it happens, it happens,” he added.

Foster is looking to continue scoring goals to join the exclusive club of Bafana Bafana greats who set major milestones for the national team during their careers.

“I have started really well, thank God for that. And God willing, if it happens, it happens,” he added about his desire to chase the record.

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“I won’t sit here and say that it’s not something I don’t want to achieve. Everyone wants to achieve things. I have so much respect for Benni, but I’d like to follow in his footsteps as well,” said the 25-year-old.

Foster has a chance to add onto his tally as Bafana Bafana face Zambia in a friendly match on Saturday while he will be looking to fire Broos’ team to glory at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Foster will be itching to impress at AFCON after missing the 2023 edition as he had taken a break from football to deal with a health issue.