The two experienced players will not play a part in next month’s AFCOn 2025 qualifiers
Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams will not be involved in Bafana Bafana’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in September following his omission from the final squad.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos unveiled his final squad for the September 6 and 10 matches at home to Uganda and away to South Sudan respectively but Williams was among those who did not make it from the provisional squad of 38 that was released last week.
Williams has been out for months with a shoulder injury which saw him miss Sundowns’ pre-season tour of Austria but there had been hope that he would be fit in time for the two matches after his coach Manqoba Mngqithi revealed that he is back in training and could feature in the MTN8 semi-final second leg against Stellenbosch FC on Sunday.
Who will replace Ronwen Williams in goal?
In his absence, Orlando Pirates’ Sipho Chaine, SuperSport United’s Ricardo Goss and Veli Mothwa of AmaZulu will vie for a starting place in goal.
Meanwhile, the other big omission is Al Ahly forward Percy Tau, who is currently in talks with his club over the termination of his contract.
It is not clear if the uncertainty over his future at the Cairo giants has anything to do with his omission but it means Tau’s absence from the national team will be extended after he missed South Africa’s 3-1 victory over Zimbabwe in the 2026 World Cup qualifier in June due to an injury.
A number of new faces made it to the final squad, however, being Chaine, his Pirates team-mate midfielder Thalente Mbatha, Kaizer Chiefs defensive target Fawaaz Basadien of Stellenbosch FC and Chiefs’ new signing defender Rushwin Dortley.
Mamelodi Sundowns players still dominate the squad
Mamelodi Sundowns still have the bulk of the players in the squad, the Brazilians contributing seven, while Pirates have five, two from Stellenbosch as well as SuperSport, one from Chiefs, AmaZulu and Polokwane City while there are four foreign-based players.
Bafana Bafana will host the Cranes of Uganda at the Orlando Stadium on September 6 before flying to Juba for a clash against South Sudan four days later.
South Africa are unbeaten in open play since November 21, 2023 when they lost 2-0 to Rwanda in a 2026 World Cup qualifier.
