Veli Mothwa’s ex-coach Sean Louw has broken his silence on the keepers lack of game time in the national team since his first appearance in July 2021.
AmaZulu shot-stopper Veli Mothwa has been one of the most consistent of all the players selected in the Bafana Bafana squad alongside the team captain Ronwen Williams. However, Mothwa has been struggling with game time in the national team with Ronwen Williams being the preferred choice in most matches. Mothwa have collected six caps since he was introduced to the Bafana Bafana national team setup.
Louw, who is a former Banyana Banyana goalkeeper coach doesn’t think Mothwa is not getting enough game time in the national team and that he has done well to push Williams. The 31-year-old hasn’t conceded a goal when he in goals for the national team.
“Bafana is bigger than all of us and the best goalkeeper at the time of the call up, must play. The second best must be on the bench and so on. When Veli Mothwa did get a chance to play an entire tournament (COSAFA), he won it as captain, won goalkeeper of the tournament and solidified his place in the national team setup, so I don’t think he’s not getting “enough” game time. I just think when he does play, he does extremely well and he knows, he can continue to push Ronwen [Williams] for the number one spot. I don’t think he can complain about not getting enough game time,” he told ThisIsFootball.Africa.
“However, it’s a process of steps. When I first started working with Veli [Mothwa], he didn’t really seem like he had Bafana in his sights. We then made him realise that he’s far better than he thinks and it started becoming a dream of his. He then made it a reality and now, the call up is basically a normality. The next step is playing and he knows that if he’s playing, he’s the best in the country and as long as he’s in the Bafana camp, he’s at least one of the best,” he added.
“I will never think a place in the national team is safe and I hope he does not either because as soon as he does, complacency will creep in and we all know what happens next. Every single call up, is a massive achievement and he has had many of those in the past couple of years. He knows how to do it and as long as he’s getting involved in cup finals and continues making the super saves that he makes at club level; he will get what he deserves.”
With Africa Cup of Nation qualifications coming up in the next two months, Mothwa’s familiarity of Hugo Broos’s defence in friendly matches will benefit South Africa in case Williams get injured. South Africa are hosting Liberia in AFCON Group K encounter in March 2023.
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