Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams says the current group of players are bringing in an energy he’s yet to feel in camp before and is excited about the scoring potential.
With Hugo Broos now suggesting he’s close to finding his ideal squad to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations and to take to Ivory Coast, should they get there, there’s a different energy of optimism surrounding the squad.
Despite heavy defeats to France and opening the campaign with a loss to Morocco, the preparation games for the Liberia double header allowed for some experimentation for the Belgian to find his preferred tactical system and players.
Three wins against Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Botswana and a draw against Angola saw the likes of Luke Le Roux, Mihlali Mayambela, Themba Zwane and Miguel Timm stake their claim in the national team and individually they have thrived for the clubs this season.
“Camp has been extremely amazing, the last few camps we’ve had, you can see the core of the team is there,” Williams said when asked about the comradery amongst the squad.
“I mean coach has mentioned that he has his team now and there are only one or two new faces, so that’s also important, the morale in the team is good, regarding the last two camps we had, we’ve had three wins and one draw.
“So yes, the mood in the team is amazing, the spirit amongst each other is high and something I’m not used to in the national team, so it’s good and the guys can see it’s bearing fruit, the spirit in the camp rubs off on the field.”
With Cassius Mailula, Lyle Foster, Mayambela, Zakhela Lepasa and Monnapule Saleng all arriving in goal-scoring form, Williams admits it’s something that increases the faith within the squad and provides Broos with a wanted selection headache for the Lone Stars.
“It’s amazing, we’ve always cried as a country that we don’t have a goalscorer, now we’ve got a few now, we have to cherish it and help them as a team, as a backline to keep clean sheets, once we do our job here, we’re sure they will do the job upfront,” he added.
“As you mentioned, all of them are scoring, even Zakes [Lepasa], a week ago he scored a brace, so it’s good for them and good for us, hopefully, they can carry their club form into the national setup.”
South Africa face Liberia on Friday afternoon at Orlando Stadium (18h00) before traveling to Monrovia for the return fixture four days later.
