Mamelodi Sundowns fans have been hit with the news of Ronwen Williams not taking a part in Saturday's friendly game with Namibia in a bid to give playing time to other members of the squad.
The move is a good one, however, it could be displeasing to some Sundowns' fans who are looking to see their favourite goalie in action against the Namibians on Saturday afternoon.
The coach of Bafana Bafana Hugo Broos during his pre-match press conference on Friday revealed that an agreement was reached in the goalkeeping department that will see Veli Mothwa of AmaZulu start in goal against the Brave Warriors of Namibia.
Broos said that captain Ronwen Williams who plays for Sundowns will return against DR Congo next Tuesday, as he looks to give all 23 selected players a chance to play.
“For these two games, I don't want to have the team. For me, it's important to give play time to every player; from number one, except the keeper.
“So we agreed that Veli will play (on Saturday), that Ricardo will be second, and for the game on Tuesday, Ronwen will play and Ricardo will be the second.
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos confirms that he’ll start today’s game with AmaZulu goalkeeper Veli Mothwa as he aims to give all the 23 players selected a chance against Namibia & DRC!
📹 #SABCSport’s @Velile_Mnyandu #SABCSportFootball pic.twitter.com/RbjWVoxdMO
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) September 9, 2023
“For next month (gainst) Eswatini, Ricardo will play and Veli will be the second, and (gainst) Ivory Coast, Ronwen will play again and Veli will be the second; that's what we agreed. Apart from that, all the players will have play time, this is for sure.
“So, I will not do it like, I think, last year with Botswana and I don't know (Sierra Leone), when we were two totally different teams, totally different 11 players on the pitch. This will not be the case now, but everyone will have their play time.”
Bafana Bafana have been in good form since their 2-1 loss to Morocco in the team's first game of the AFCON qualies. It's been nearly 18 months since Broos' team tasted defeat having gone unbeaten in their last eight matches.
So, in this international window, the team is looking to keep up with the good results.
Broos said the intention in the two international friendlies scheduled against Namibia and DR Congo is to continue with the winning momentum.
“Our goals for the next two games are, firstly, winning them both. We are a little bit in a winning mood over the last seven or eight months, so we don't want to change that”, Broo said.
“But, in these two games maybe the performance is more important. As we said, we will give play time to every player. It's two tough opponents with different styles, and that was something we looked for, so I'm very happy that we can play these two games.”
South Africa will trade tackles with the Brave Warriors of Namibia in Orlando Stadium in Soweto, having both completed their 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifying campaigns due to the suspensions of Zimbabwe and Kenya from their respective groups.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
