Williams Praises SA Wonderkid Emile Witbooi

Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams praised teenage sensation Emile Witbooi and the Amajita squad after they reached the 2026 U20 Cosafa Cup final and qualified for the 2027 U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana. Raymond Mdaka’s team secured a dramatic come-from-behind 4-2 victory over the U20 national team of Zambia, thus earning a place in the final against either host Mozambique or Namibia on Sunday.

With emphasis on youth being a key focus of the new era under head coach Pitso Mosimane, Witbooi has emerged as a significant talent at just 18 years old. He has been an integral part of the U15, U17, and U20 teams and was included in the U23 national team squad this week. His impressive performance included a stunning solo goal during the U20 Cosafa Cup semi-final on Friday afternoon.

Williams expressed enthusiasm for the future of South African football and mentioned that the entire squad supported Mdaka’s young talents, whom he believes will soon be part of the senior team. "First and foremost, congratulations to the U20 team, Amajita, for what they’ve done... they’ve done that now again. And I mean, when you saw the fourth goal from Emile Witbooi dribbling through so many players, then slotting the ball into the net, it was amazing.

“You know the boy is a high-quality player. You see it week in and week out at Cape Town City. In a few years, some of them will be knocking on the national team door. Our coach mentioned in his previous press conference that he’ll keep his eye on them. So, they need to keep working hard, win AFCON again, and then definitely in a few months, some of them will be a part of us."