Bafana Bafana 1996 AFCON hero Mark Williams takes the pressure off misfiring Lyle Foster ahead of continental showpiece, asserts 'they are not creating enough chances for' English Premier League forward

Burnley forward Lyle Foster has been struggling for goals this season in both club and country colours. 

He has managed just two goals and an assist in the 13 English Premier League matches he has featured for Burnley this term. 

Since October 26, when he scored in the 3-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, the former Orlando Pirates striker has not found the back of the net. 

This difficult form for the player comes as he now leads Bafana Bafana's attack at the 2025 AFCON finals in Morocco.

Bafana legend Williams who scored in the 1996 AFCON final against Tunisia has commented Foster's form.

The retired footballer has moved in to throw his weight behind Foster amid the pressure on the Burnley forward from Bafana fans.

“I don’t think Lyle is playing in the EPL for nothing. He must be good," Williams told SowetanLive. 

"I always say that people will criticise you because they want to see their players play in the national team... That’s what I feel about Lyle’s criticism.   

“He is physical; he can run because he has pace, and he can hold the ball very well, so he is our ideal target man. 

"You can’t criticise a player for missing one chance. How many chances does he get? Maybe they are not creating enough chances for him.”

Expectations from South Africa fans are high on Foster to lead the Bafana strikeforce at AFCON, also given the football league he is coming in from. 

He is one of just two outright strikers in Broos' squad, with the other being Pirates forward Evidence Makgopa. 

Most hopes for goals rest on these two frontrunners in a squad that, however, has attacking midfielders and wingers like Relebohile Mofokeng, Oswin Appollis, Tshepang Moremi, Mohau Nkota, Elias Mokwana and Shandre Campbell. 

With the attackers he has at his disposal, Broos would be hoping his side will be a high-scoring team.

Bafana have Zimbabwe, Egypt and Angola in their group at AFCON as they push to win this tournament for the first time since 1996. 

They open their Group B campaign against Angola on Monday before facing Egypt on Friday.

They conclude their group matches against Zimbabwe on December 29.

After missing out on the last AFCON tournament due to mental health issues, this will be Foster's first time to feature at this competition. 

That makes it a highly anticipated tournament for him as he seeks to make a huge impression in Morocco. 

However, leaving his club Burnley for AFCON appeared to present manager Scott Parker with a difficult time.

Foster is one of the three Burnley players who will be in Morocco, with the others being DR Congo defender Axel Tuanzebe and midfielder Hannibal Mejbri of Tunisia. 

Parker will now have to work without the trio in the coming days and hopes the absence of the three players will not be felt.

This comes as the Clarets are fighting to survive relegation from the English Premier League, as they are currently second from the bottom on the table.

“It'll be difficult,” Parker said about being without the trio in the next few weeks.  

"It's not ideal obviously, but of course it’s a big competition that just falls at this time of the year. 

"We'll have to look at that and take that into consideration, certainly regarding January as well. But like I said, we've got a big squad and people have to come in for that.”