South Africa needed to shake off the disappointment of drawing against Zimbabwe last Friday in preparation for the clash against Rwanda, where they did what they had to do to secure their place in next year’s Fifa World Cup.
Bafana put on a show and dance at the Mbombela Stadium where they demolished Rwanda 3-0 while rivals Nigeria did one better by beating Benin 4-0.
At some stage, Bafana’s path to the US, Canada and Mexico looked bleak as the situation was not entirely in Bafana’s control. But Bafana captain Ronwen Williams and his teammates made sure to keep their end of the bargain when the Super Eagles were in cruise control in Uyo.
Williams has since revealed how he managed to encourage his teammates to flush out setback against The Warriors, as head coach Hugo Broos admitted that there were some doubts within the team in the aftermath of Zimbabwe’s draw.
“It was not only good moments, there were bad moments and we had to stick together as a team in this journey and that is what I asked for,” Williams told SABC Sport.
“I told the boys that in good moments it is easy to be a team, but in bad moments and when your back is against the wall, that is when you have to dig deep and draw strength from one another, and that is what we did in the last few days before this game. Kudos to the players and the team.
The qualification sees Bafana return to the World Cup after missing the last three editions, and have qualified for the first time in 23 years, bar the time South Africa qualified as hosts in 2010.
“It is amazing. I don’t think that we as players realize what we have done, this is history. To be leading this team and what we have done here is amazing and as time goes by, it will sink it. I am so happy for the team and the coach and the technical team,” Williams explained.
Written by Mike Gumede