Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams has revealed what he told his teammates heading into the clash against Rwanda.
South Africa secured a spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup after finishing top of Group C with 18 points, following a 3-0 victory over Rwanda on Tuesday at Mbombela Stadium on the final matchday of qualifying.
Heading into the match against Amavubi, Bafana needed nothing less than a victory with a wide margin to boost their chances of qualification.
Williams said he reminded the team that unity was easy during their impressive run in qualifying. After the three-point deduction and a draw with Zimbabwe, however, he told them they needed to be even stronger and draw strength from each other to succeed.
“It’s amazing, I’m lost of words, I don’t know what to say,” said Williams on SABC Sport.
“I don’t think we, as players, realise what we’ve done here. This is history and I’m so proud to be leading this team.
“What we’ve done here is amazing and as time goes by, it will probably sink in. I’m so proud for the team and the players and the coach and the technical team, especially.
“It’s been an amazing journey, lots of good and bad moments. We had moments where we had to stick together as a team.
“That’s what I asked for in the last few days, I said in good moments, it’s easy to be a team but in bad moments, that’s when we have to dig deep and draw strength from one another, that’s what we did. So, kudos to the players and the team.”
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