Ronwen Williams speaks on World Cup hopes, points deduction | OneFootball

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Williams on World Cup ambition and FIFA sanction

Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/ BackPagePix

Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams has shared his thoughts on the team's chances of a 2026 World Cup berth and the points deduction by FIFA.

Hugo Broos' men, currently in second and tied on 14 points with leaders Benin, will face Zimbabwe and Rwanda on Friday and Tuesday, respectively, in their last two matches of the qualifying campaign.

With the crucial encounters looming, Williams says they have their destiny in their own hands, stating they are eager to get the job done without relying on favors.

“We know what's at stake, it's coming to the end now and it's the business end of the qualifiers. But nothing needs to change, we just need to be the team we have been in the last two or three years. We have been growing and we have been so good,” he said.

"But we need to finish it on a positive note, we have set ourselves high standards when we started the World Cup campaign. We want to be there, we want to qualify and it's close now.

"It's in our hands and I think that's the most important thing that we are not going to look for favors or rely on other teams. We want to get the job done and that is the mentality that we all have in the camp.

On the FIFA sanction, the Bafana goalkeeper admits the points deduction was a setback and the group is yet to talk about it but insists the mandate is still to beat their upcoming two opponents.

“It wasn't good news but there's nothing much that we can do about it. We need to control what we can and that is the next two games, they are so important and we still have a big opportunity,” Williams added.

"So, we know how important it is and either way, these two games were still going to be important anyway. We had to get the job done and I think it's okay. We haven't spoken about it - we don't have to because we cannot do anything about it now.

"We would rather focus and put all our energy into the next two games and like I said, the energy that we brought in training this week, you can see it's a team that means business.