Williams calls on Bafana to respect Eritrea as Pitso names lineup
Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams has warned his teammates not to underestimate Eritrea as South Africa chase another win in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
Bafana face Eritrea at the Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo on Wednesday at 6pm, with South Africa looking to build on their 2-1 victory over Guinea in their opening Group D match.
Williams says Eritrea deserve respect after holding Kenya to a 1-1 draw in Nairobi.
“The most important thing is to give respect to the opponents, because they are in the group. They qualified to be in the group. That’s more important.
“We saw them against Eswatini and they managed to win to qualify. So we respect them for that,” said Williams.
The Bafana captain has also singled out Eritrea’s dangerous striker as a player they cannot afford to ignore.
“They have a striker who scores all the time. The guy is even playing here in Egypt,” added Williams.
“He’s a top scorer, he’s fast, and he shoots from any angle — left or right. He’s deadly on set pieces and penalties. One important guy. Very tricky. We have to look after him.”
Williams believes Eritrea’s draw against Kenya was another warning sign.
“They gave Kenya a scare also. Kenya had to come from behind and equalise at the end in Kenya. That’s a big one. That really shows that you have to respect them.”
With the stakes high in Group D, Williams says Bafana are focused on collecting maximum points.
“We know it’s an AFCON qualifier and we treat it with the respect that it deserves. We want to try and get as many points as possible as quickly as possible. First and foremost is to get the points. We’ve prepared well for tomorrow’s game.”
The Bafana captain also revealed that the mood in camp remains positive, while coach Pitso Mosimane wants his players to show the same attitude that helped them beat Guinea.
South Africa will be without Teboho Mokoena and Aubrey Modiba, who are both injured. Bathusi Aubass takes Mokoena’s place in the starting XI while Kabini replaces Modiba.
Bafana XI: Williams, Kabini, Sebelebele, Makhanya, Okon, Aubaas, Sithole, Mofokeng, Maseko, Appollis, Rayners.
Subs: Ricardo Goss, Sipho Chaine, Yanela Mbuthuma, Thabang Matuludi, Thapelo Morena, Singh, Seema, Ndamane, Basadien, Mailula, Poggenpoel and Zwane.
