Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Ronwen Williams has discussed the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification permutations, predicting that he doesn’t see Benin claiming a win against Nigeria.
Williams and his Bafana teammates are gearing up for the final match of the World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda, eyeing a spot in the 2026 global tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
Bafana are desperate to collect maximum points after failing to beat Zimbabwe on Friday at Moses Mabhida in the qualifiers. The unwanted results against the Zim Warriors saw Benin, who are at the summit of Group C in the qualifiers, stretch their lead after defeating Rwanda 1-0.
As it stands, Benin are in the pole position to qualify for the World Cup as they have collected 17 points while the second-placed Bafana are on 15 points with one match remaining.
For South Africa to qualify for the World Cup, they’ll have to secure a victory against Rwanda next Tuesday and hope that Nigeria defeats Benin. With the qualification fate not in the hands of Bafana, Williams has claimed that he doesn’t see Benin winning away against the Super Eagles.
WHAT WILLIAMS SAID ABOUT A MATCH BETWEEN BENIN AND NIGERIA
“People will have doubts now, but if you look back to a month ago, it looked like everything was clear for us to qualify,” the Bafana captain told the team’s media.
“I still feel everything is working out in our favour. I believe in fairytales. If I remember well, 12 years ago, we had our calculators out in Mbombela, where we are going now, and maybe we’re going to correct the wrongs from that time.
“So I’m positive, I have faith, and all the results went our way. Now it’s for Nigeria to play Benin, and I don’t see Benin getting results in Nigeria. It’s just for us to get the job done as well.
“We know how important that game [against] Rwanda is going to be, and we’ve got a score to settle with Rwanda. There’s a lot of motivation behind this game; they are the only team that beat us in the qualifiers. The nation shouldn’t lose hope, get behind the boys and keep sending the positive messages, and maybe things will fall in our way.”
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