The Kiwis are off to the FIFA World Cup in the USA next year, and the 28-year-old is desperate to represent his country at the global showpiece event.

De Jong has made a massive contribution to Stellies this season in both the domestic league and CAF Confederation Cup, scoring eight goals in an incredible 42 matches as well as adding four assists.

"I hope that I receive a call-up, and that's almost why I'm a bit disappointed, because when you get into a final, then there are lots of eyes on you.

"I'm really hoping that the door is still open, obviously, New Zealand have qualified for the World Cup next year, so for me to push my way into that, I just need to start scoring more goals and the team should just keep on doing well," said the Stellies striker.

READ: Steve Barker: Stellenbosch on verge of special season

When asked what the driving force behind his improvement has been, De Jong’s response was that he’d matured with time since arriving in SA.

"Now that I've been in South Africa for five years, I feel more experienced. When I first came over and played for AmaZulu and Royal AM, I was still new to the league.

"I have really found a home at Stellenbosch, the technical team really believes in me, which is what any footballer wants," said de Jong.

Stellies were debutants in the CAF interclub tournament but stunned many by getting to the last four. De Jong believes this is proof of the strength of the PSL and the team coached by Steve Barker.

The former AmaZulu forward admits there was an impostor syndrome at Stellies in the early stages of the Confederation Cup until they punched their way out of the group stages, hence the disappointment of not reaching the final.

Fall of Wickets	Player	Score	Overs	Bowler	Out
2	Bikramkumar Das	141	13.3	Akash Madhwal	Catch OUT
1	Samrat Sutradhar	0	0.3	Akash Madhwal	Clean Bowled

Finished Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy