Fletcher Smyth-Lowe dispels fears of switching national team allegiances

The 18-year-old rose to prominence as the goalkeeper of the tournament as South Africa were crowned CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations champions in May, when calls were made to fast-track him into the Bafana Bafana team for fears of potentially losing him to the Portuguese senior team.

However, having been based in Portugal since 2020 and eligible for naturalisation, Smyth-Lowe has now told SABC Sport that he will never renounce his South African nationality.

"Definitely not, even before I was selected for the U20 national team in the first years in Portugal, my parents asked me about it and I said, South Africa is my home and I grew up here. I learnt everything that I value here, I met great people here. Portugal is a country where I'm living but this is my home, I will never ever leave," Smyth-Lowe said.

Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has already confirmed that Smyth-Lowe will definitely be drafted into the senior men's team after the FIFA U20 World Cup, following his impressive displays at the U20 AFCON in Egypt.

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"Obviously it's nice to feel recognition from the head coach of the men's national team, Bafana, it's really great and it just really motivated me to push more and pursue my dreams more and try get there one day,” he explained. 

“I think there's a lot of work that needs to be done, obviously 18 years old as a goalkeeper is still very young but I still need to gain experience, maturity, the ability to read the game. 

“To understand the game, where they press, the right actions to do at certain moments. Maybe the athleticism is there and the physical characteristics but in terms of understanding the game, I still need to work on that and I will."