11th June 2025
Tshabalala netted a 55th minute thunderbolt on this day fifteen years ago, as South Africa opened the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Mexico in front of a boisterous sold-out crowd at Soccer City in Johannesburg.
He says, although so many years have since passed, the emotions are still raw.
"It feels like yesterday, but I still get goosebumps, and it's all thanks to the fans and everyone for showing me love and sending me messages of support, compliments through all my social media platforms," said 'Shabba'.
"And everywhere I go I still get compliments about the goal, it shows that I've done something great and how big the impact of the goal made, and I'll be eternally grateful for that."
Tshabalala says that moment was part of years of investment in himself as a brand in football, which has afforded him the opportunity to be aligned with several big names and benefit financially long after his playing days are over.
"It's a career that I've created within a career, while I was still playing, and I'm enjoying these moments now that I get to work with brands, even though I'm not on the field," he added.
"And it's all thanks to the brand that I've built, and the brand that I've invested in, and I'm just leveraging on it now."