ATLANTA, GA -- South Africa captain Ronwen Williams has lauded the influence of Mbekezeli Mbokazi within the South Africa camp, insisting that the defender is already establishing himself as one of the team's leaders despite being only 20.
Chicago Fire FC's Mbokazi, playing in his first FIFA World Cup, has been one of the revelations of Major League Soccer [MLS] in 2026, having secured a move from South Africa in December following a breakout year with Orlando Pirates.
After catching the eye during the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, Mbokazi is now tasting life at his first World Cup, and Williams has paid tribute to a player who he believes has the potential to go to the very top.
"He's been amazing, he's a generational talent," Williams began. "Even in the opening game, his aggression for such a young game is amazing.
"He inspires us all to keep going, to keep fighting, even when the guys have given up, young Mbokazi steps us and pushes us, even in the final minutes [of the 2-0 defeat by Mexico].
"He's a born leader, a born defender, and inspires us as a team."
Despite Bafana's struggles against Mexico, where they conceded 16 shots while only taking three themselves, Mbokazi delivered a commanding display, making four clearances and two key tackles during the course of the match.
Even in the fearsome atmosphere of the Estadio Azteca, in the World Cup opener, the youngster sought to be proactive in organising the defence and barking orders to the defenders around him.
"As a team, we know each others' strengths and weakness," Williams continued. "We speak many languages and most of us can communicate in several of the different languages of South Africa.
"We know how important good communication is on the pitch, not just between Mbokazi and myself, but the whole team. I'm captain, leader, and the most vocal, but we all have a good understanding on the pitch.
"We have so many languages that opponents can't understand us."
Head coach Hugo Broos, a coach for the best part of four decades, acknowledges that he's been wowed by what he's seen by Mbokazi having worked with him in camp both at the AFCON and now, the World Cup.
"It's amazing how he progresses every time," Broos began. "I saw him playing his first came with Pirates in South Africa, and immediately, I saw he was a guy with so much talent.
"Also, importantly, he's a powerful man, and in modern football, you need power, it's not enough to just be technically good.
"I think Mbokazi is a model of a modern player, but he needs to learn, he's young, However, he's still a guy who can talk, there's a lot of talk on the pitch, so he'll be a leader later, even more than he is now."
Ahead of the Nations Cup, Broos made no bones of the fact that he was underwhelmed by Mbokazi's decision to leave Orlando Pirates for Chicago Fire, rather than hold out for a move to Europe, and he reiterated that he believed the defender's progress might not go as quickly as it could do given his choice of MLS.
"Again, I'm frustrated that he came here to America, I think he's a guy who should be playing in Europe," Broos concluded.
"The challenges there would be more and bigger, and he's very quickly become a very good player.
"Ok, maybe it's a good thing that he can make a step in between and not immediately go to the highest level, but certainly, when this guy knows what he has to do, and doesn't do the things that he must not do, he'll become a great player."
Mbokazi and Williams will be charged with keeping a clean sheet against Czechia in Atlanta on Thursday as Bafana look to get their World Cup campaign back on track.
Their final Group A match comes against South Korea in Guadalupe on June 24, where Bafana will be desperate to reach the knockouts for the first time in their history.