Ethiopian striker Abubeker Nasir showed no signs of the difficulties he has endured at club level this season as he scored a hat-trick on Monday night.
After starting the previous 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Egypt on Friday and lasting 78 minutes, Nasir was again a starter against Djibouti on Monday.
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He was on the field for 65 minutes and by the time he was taken off had scored thrice, showing no signs of that he hasn't played any club football for the past 15 months at Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United.
For his first, Nasir chipped the ball over the keeper into the net just after the half-hour mark.
Three minutes later, he had a brace after rounding off the Djibouti keeper to slot into an empty net.
The third was from the penalty spot.
Fellow Ethiopian striker Bereket Desta Dana also scored a hat-trick.
Nasir will only be able to play club football again next season after being de-registered as one of five foreign players at SuperSport, where he has been on loan from Sundowns since the beginning of the season.
Matsatsantsa now have Enoch Quaicoe (Ghana), Eric Mbangossoum (Chad), Samir Nurkovic (Serbia), Christian Saile Basomboli (DR Congo), and Terrence Dzvukamanja (Zimbabwe) as their five foreign players registered for the second half of the campaign.
Nasir only appeared on the SuperSport match-day team sheet only once when he was an unused substitute.
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He last played in December 2023 in the colours of Sundowns against Cape Town Spurs and since then injuries have run havoc.
After Monday's match, the 25-year-old was in jovial spirits when interviewed after the game, noting how thrilled he was about scoring, while also speaking out on criticism.