Keanu Cupido's impressive performance at the Fifa Club World Cup in the US has given him confidence that he will cement a place at Mamelodi Sundowns' starting line-up this season.
After joining the Brazilians from Cape Town City in January, the centre-back struggled for game time, but impressed during the Club World Cup, playing all three matches.
The 27-year-old credited the amount of hard work he has been doing behind the scenes for getting regular game time during the Club World Cup and hopes this will continue in the Betway Premiership.
'It has been a work behind the scenes basically, and it was just hard work that paid off. Getting game time at Club World Cup, yes, it did surprise me a lot because before that, I had not played for a while and going into the major tournament like that, I thought maybe it's a holiday for me,' Cupido told the media.
'But at the end of the day, God works in mysterious ways. Going into this season, the tournament helped me a lot. It showed people who I am, my talent, me as a person ... as a defender, and now I feel like I have more confidence going into the season than the previous one.'