Bafana Bafana promise an improved performance in Ivory Coast

Following Friday's disappointing goalless draw against Eswatini, ranked 79 places lower, Bafana will look for redemption away in Abidjan on Tuesday. The Elephants came dangerously close to defeating Morocco on Saturday, and Mothwa believes they must improve.

"Each and every game we respect. We are expecting a difficult one, but also we have our guns blazing we are ready for everything. So, whatever is going tomorrow, we gonna bring out A-game as we do most of the games even though we don't get the good results," he told the media. 

"Tomorrow is going to be a good game, it's going to be a challenging and hard one, but with the players in the squad and the players dedicated to playing the games," said.

This friendly has two purposes for Bafana: it ends the international week on a positive note ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers next month, and gives the team a taste of the AFCON environment before the 34th edition begins in four months. 

After recovering from an injury, captain and first-choice keeper Ronwen Williams returns to the starting lineup. The duo has competed for the number one jersey for the past two years, and Mothwa believes the Mamelodi Sundowns goalminder has evolved and improved significantly. 

"He's grown, he's improved a lot in every aspect. Ronza is on another level, besides the team he's in, but personally. And when you're competing against that person like that, you ask yourself so many questions. 

“When I watch Ronza play, I have goosebumps, because he plays so well, better than [previous years]. And now he's improved, he combined everything that he was doing back then with the knowledge that he has now. Ronza is a topnotch."