Ronwen Williams calls for focus and composure as Bafana Bafana aim for maximum points in remaining World Cup qualifiers

Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams has called for focus and composure as the national team enters a decisive phase of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

South Africa will host Zimbabwe at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday evening (6pm) before travelling to Mbombela to face Rwanda next Tuesday — two fixtures that could define their route to North America.

“We know what’s at stake, it’s the business end of the qualifiers,” Williams said ahead of the match. “We’ve been good for the last three or four years but we need to finish it off on a good note.”

The Bafana skipper’s comments come as the squad seeks to channel its recent consistency into tangible progress. 

Under coach Hugo Broos, the national team has shown steady improvement, reaching the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year and establishing a strong qualifying record in Group C.

Williams acknowledged that the growing expectation from supporters is a sign of progress, but urged his teammates to remain grounded amid the “favourites” tag that has surrounded their last two qualifiers.

“At the end of the day, none of that matters,” he said. “The most important thing is to show up and get the job done. I think you’ve seen over the last three years, people have high expectations for the team.

“We just control what we can control, which is the brotherhood, the team spirit, and we show up in the 90 minutes and play as hard as we can. We don’t pay attention to tags.”

The goalkeeper, who has captained the side through a period of renewal, believes the lessons of the past three years — from painful defeats to continental growth — have forged a more mature group.

“We have come a long way as a team and we know what it takes to be at the top,” Williams added. “We’ve tasted defeat and have had relative success.”

Off the field, Bafana have also had to deal with the recent Teboho Mokoena saga, which saw FIFA dock the team three points after the midfielder was fielded while suspended in the victory over Lesotho. 

The administrative error has gone on to complicate Bafana's qualification picture, but within the camp the message remains one of unity and focus.

Broos has since accepted responsibility for the oversight, describing it as “a human mistake” — and Williams was quick to emphasise that such distractions cannot be allowed to affect performance on the pitch.

“We’ve faced adversity before,” he said. “We can’t control what happens off it, but we can control how we respond as a team.”

As Bafana prepare to face neighbours Zimbabwe, Williams’ leadership and composure will be critical. 

With six points on offer in the coming week, South Africa’s dream of reaching the 2026 World Cup may well hinge on how they respond now — with the same resilience that has defined their revival.