Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams has shared his comments on Kylian Mbappe’s return for France and his availability for Tuesday’s international friendly match against South Africa.
France host Bafana at Stade Pierre-Mauroy and welcome back Mbappe, who is now fit to play after sitting out their friendly against Ivory Coast last week.
The Bafana skipper appears not to be worried about the Paris Saint-Germain man, who has been heavily linked with La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“Obviously he is one of the best players at the moment but it’s a challenge for us, one the players are looking forward to,” Williams told the media when asked about Mbappe.
“We want to give a good account of ourselves. We don’t focus on his, we focus on the whole team because they are a very strong team.
“We will just go out there believing in our qualities and be a team. If we stick to the game plan and structure everything should be fine for us.”
While Williams is trying to play down Mbappe’s availability, Bafana coach Hugo Broos is concerned even if they employ specific tactics to contain the PSG man, he could still hurt them.
“Mbappe is one of the best players for the moment. When I see him playing with PSG, fantastic player,” said Broos.
“Even when you have a plan to neutralise him, there will be still one moment in the game that he’s gone and will score.
"I would have liked that my colleague on the other side [Didier Deschamps] would’ve played him against Ivory Coast and rested him against us.
“But okay, it’s also a challenge for us to play against such a player. We know his qualities so we will not have surprises with him but how we are going to neutralise him is another thing.”
Meanwhile, France coach Didier Deschamps has been doing his own research about Bafana Bafana and mentioned a few players.
“I know [Victor] Letsoalo, [Evidence] Makgopa and the young man [Ethan] Brooks,” said Deschamps via a translator.
Bafana meet France four days after playing out a 0-0 draw against Guinea in Kortrijk, while France beat Ivory Coast 2-1.