Lebogang Mothiba (born 28 January 1996) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a striker for South African Premiership club Mamelodi Sundowns.

He made his professional debut in 2017 for Ligue 2 side Valenciennes, whilst on loan from Lille, before returning to his parent club the following year. There, he scored six goals in 17 appearances before transferring to fellow Ligue 1 side Strasbourg in August 2018 with whom he won the Coupe de la Ligue in his debut season.

Having previously represented South Africa at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Mothiba broke into the senior side in 2018 after which he became the first player to score in three consecutive matches for the nation from debut.

Club career Early career Mothiba spent his formative years on the books of local side Mamelodi Sundowns. He never progressed to the club's first team, however, and later joined Diambars academy in South Africa from whence he was signed by French side, Lille in 2014, shortly after his eighteenth birthday.

Lille In July 2014, Mothiba signed for Ligue 1 side Lille on a three-year contract where he joined the club's under-19 side. He spent the next two seasons with the club's youth and reserve sides before signing his first professional contract with the club, penning a three-year deal. Midway through the 2016–17 campaign he joined Ligue 2 side Valenciennes on a two-year loan deal. He scored two goals in nine appearances for the campaign which prompted Valenciennes to extend his loan for a further season. Mothiba added a further eight goals in 20 appearances for the club before his form, coupled with Lille's domestic struggles, saw his parent club recall him mid-way through his second loan stint. With Lille battling against the prospect of relegation, Mothiba returned to score five goals in 14 appearances, including a brace against Dijon on the final day of the season, to ensure that the club avoided the drop to Ligue 2. Despite his form in the season prior, however, Mothiba was forced to leave Lille during the early stages of the 2018–19 campaign after the club ran into financial difficulties.

Strasbourg On 31 August 2018, the last day of the 2018 summer transfer window, and with Lille facing financial difficulties, Mothiba was sold to league rivals Strasbourg for a reported transfer fee of €4 million. The deal also involved a buyback option and a 50% sell-on clause for Lille. He scored his first goal for the club in his second appearance when he netted in the third minute of injury time to earn his side a point against Montpellier. On 30 March, he started in Strasbourg's penalty shoot-out win over Guingamp to help the club lift the Coupe de la Ligue title.

On 9 November 2019, on the occasion of his 50th appearance for Strasbourg, Mothiba ended a five-month goal drought with a brace in the club's 4–1 league win over Nîmes Olympique.

On 27 January 2022, Mothiba joined Troyes on loan until the end of the season.

On 31 May 2024, it was announced that Mothiba would not be extending his contract at Strasbourg.

Mamelodi Sundowns On 3 March 2025, Mothiba joined Mamelodi Sundowns on a free transfer.

In June 2025, he was included in Mamelodi Sundowns' squad for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. On 21 June 2025, Mothiba scored his first goal in the FIFA Club World Cup, in a 4-3 loss against Borussia Dortmund.

International career Mothiba represented South Africa at the football competition of the 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2016, he was called up for the 2016 COSAFA Cup squad for South Africa.

In September 2017, he was called up to the South Africa senior team for the first time in the game of 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Burkina Faso on October 2, 2017, but he did not play. In March 2018, he scored on his full debut during a Four Nations Tournament draw with Angola. In October, during a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Seychelles, he became the first player to score in three consecutive matches for South Africa from debut. His goal also contributed towards the nation recording its largest ever victory with the match ending 6–0 in favour of South Africa.

Career statistics Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupIncludes the Coupe de FranceOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsLille B2014–15CFA90——902015–16CFA 2133——1332016–17CFA105——105Total328——328Lille2016–17Ligue 1001000102017–18Ligue 114500001452018–19Ligue 1310000 31Total1761000186Valenciennes (loan)2016–17Ligue 2920000922017–18Ligue 2208103Appearances in the Coupe de la Ligue1249Total291010313311Strasbourg2018–19Ligue 1329103236112019–20Ligue 1213002Appearances in the UEFA Europa League02332020–21Ligue 10000—002021–22Ligue 11010—202022–23Ligue 119310—2032023–24Ligue 115300—153Total881830209620Strasbourg B2021–22National 310——102022–23National 310——10Total20——20Troyes (loan)2021–22Ligue 1132——132Career total18144508319447

International

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSouth Africa20186420198The game against Ghana on 14 November 2019 is not taken into account due to the excessive amount of substitutes, which exceeded the standard set by FIFA for friendlies.0202330Total174

Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mothiba goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Lebo MothibaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 21 March 2018 Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia 1–1 1–1 2018 Four Nations Tournament2 24 March 2018 Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia 2–0 2–0 2018 Four Nations Tournament3 13 October 2018 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 3–0 6–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification4 17 November 2018 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 1–1 1–1 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours Strasbourg Coupe de la Ligue: 2018–19 Mamelodi Sundowns

South African Premiership: 2024–25 CAF Champions League: 2025–26 CAF Champions League runner-up: 2024–25

South Africa Four Nations Tournament: 2018

Notes

References

External links