'Defence has been rock solid' - Ronwen Williams insists South Africa backline can handle Osimhen, Lookman, Simon 

South Africa captain Ronwen Williams was on media duties on Tuesday, on the eve of a blockbuster 2023 Africa Cup of Nations semifinal clash against Nigeria and one of the questions he was asked was whether he was prepared to potentially face Super Eagles forwards Moses Simon, Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman.

The aforementioned Nigerian players have been key to helping the three-time African champions progress to the last four, having been involved in all the six goals netted by Jose Peseiro's team. 

Lookman has tallied three goals, Osimhen has found the net once and won the game-winning penalty in the hard-fought 1-0 win over Ivory Coast and Simon forced an own goal against Equatorial Guinea. 

South Africa have been sensational in defence, keeping the goals out with four consecutive clean sheets. 

Williams is not nervous ahead of facing the Super Eagles and is confident that the Bafana Bafana  defence can keep Osimhen, Lookman and Simon quiet. 

"Definitely. We are looking forward to the challenge. It's going to be tough but we've been facing similar players throughout the tournament and I think our defence has been rock solid," Williams said. 

"We have defended extremely well as a team. It's not about me, it's about the team. We pride ourselves in our defending, you can see our strikers assist us.

"The back four has been amazing throughout the tournament so we know it's going to be a tough challenge but one that we are looking forward to."

On paper, Nigeria are favorites to advance to the final given that they have won their previous three games against Bafana Bafana at the Africa Cup of Nations and are the highest ranked team left in the tournament. 

Igho Kingsley

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