Williams says Bafana Bafana have embraced Mosimane’s new approach

Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams says South Africa’s players have responded positively to Pitso Mosimane’s return as head coach, despite having little time to adapt before their latest 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

Mosimane was brought back after the departure of Belgian coach Hugo Broos, who had helped rebuild belief in the national team during his five-year spell in charge.

Known as Jingle, Mosimane has had only a brief period with the squad since resuming his role, but South Africa made a winning start to their qualifying campaign by beating Guinea 2-1 at Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday.

They face Eritrea in Cairo on Wednesday, with the result potentially significant in a Group D campaign where qualification places are limited.

Williams said Mosimane had recognised that major changes were not possible in such a short period, but had still given the squad clear instructions on how he wanted the team to play.

“Obviously there’s been change in the technical team, but the coach is experienced. He knows that we can’t change much in a short space of time,” Williams said.

“He’s given us details where we can improve in the way that he wants us to play. And you can only do so much with the limited time that you have got.”

The Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper also dismissed any suggestion of problems within the camp, saying the players had accepted the new coach’s plans.

“It’s been amazing. There hasn’t been any issues in camp. The spirit, the energy amongst ourselves, it’s always good. We have maintained that,” he said.

“So the guys have been open to all the changes that the coach has implemented and one way to see that is the tactical agreements we had for the previous game.”

Williams added that the team had already seen elements of their training work reproduced during the victory over Guinea.

“To see some of the things we worked on at training coming up in the game. It’s amazing to show that we believe what the coach has given us, the details,” he said.

South Africa currently top the group with three points. Kenya and Eritrea have one point each, while Guinea are yet to register a point after the opening round of matches.

Kenya, coached by former Bafana Bafana striker Benni McCarthy, will automatically qualify for the 2027 AFCON because they are co-hosts with Tanzania and Uganda.

As a result, only the highest-placed team from South Africa, Guinea and Eritrea will take the remaining qualification place from the group.

Williams said the squad understood the importance of continuing their strong start against Eritrea.

“So far, so good. But we have got another challenge ahead of us and we need to get three points and keep a good account of ourselves,” he said.