Pitso Mosimane explains Ronwen Williams’ return to South Africa squad for 2027 AFCON qualifiers

Pitso Mosimane has named Ronwen Williams and Teboho Mokoena in South Africa’s final squad for two successive 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Kenya this month.

The Mamelodi Sundowns players are still returning to full fitness after recent injuries, but Mosimane has chosen to include both the Bafana Bafana captain and the midfielder in his selection.

Mamelodi Sundowns face USM Alger in the CAF Super Cup final on Sunday. Mosimane said he would monitor their involvement in that match before making a final decision on whether they will be able to play for South Africa.

“They are key players who led us at the first AFCON in 2024, the second AFCON in 2025 and the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They played in the AFCON qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea in September 2026, didn’t they?” Mosimane said.

“They are therefore very important players and we will wait until the last possible moment if the doctors tell me: ‘Coach, we consider them unavailable.’ We can then call up other players, as we did during the last camp with Tshepang Moremi, who replaced the injured midfielder Lebohang Maboe.”

Mosimane added that the Bafana Bafana medical team and members of his technical staff had remained in contact with Mamelodi Sundowns. They will continue to monitor the players’ condition before the squad’s matches against Kenya.

South Africa will begin its training camp in Johannesburg on Sunday, 8 November 2026.