Former Bafana Bafana striker Mark Williams has pointed out what he believes is holding back Hugo Broos’ side in a critical moment of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
South Africa face Rwanda in a do-or-die Group C match at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday. It is a must-win for Broos and his men to claim a berth at the World Cup to be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Complicating this quest to return to the global stage is that even if Bafana win, they also need Nigeria to beat Group C leaders Benin in Uyo on the same evening. South Africa go into Tuesday’s game fresh from being frustrated to a goalless draw by basement side Zimbabwe in Durban last Friday.
Williams has noted what he thinks is Bafana’s biggest drawback after watching Bafana fire blanks against their neighbours from up the Limpopo River.
WHAT IS BAFANA BAFANA’S BIGGEST PROBLEM?
“I watched them play on Friday; there was no urgency. When you know you need to win just take those chances,” Williams told FARPost.
“We played with 70 per cent ot 80 per cent ball control, but you can’t, at this level, fail to score. You have to win. So, upfront, there is no imagination; we are playing long balls, but at the back and the middle, we are playing short.
“If we play short, it has to be short. If we play long, it has to be long. But it looks like when we get upfront, there is a lack of concentration. For me, yes, we can win this game, we can beat Rwanda but that isn’t the most important match, the Zimbabwe match was.
“You can’t have three or four chances and fail to score. What I would fix is making sure that my strikers would need support and make sure that they have about five shots on target. If you are not going to shoot on target internationally, then you won’t score,” the man who scored a brace to inspire Bafana lift the 1996 AFCON title went on.
“We are playing good at the back and the middle but upfront is where the problem is. The coach needs to sort out the problem upfront. Otherwise, he has to call Mark Williams, let me help him. I can become a striker’s coach. Why not? We don’t have any strikers coach in Bafana.
“We can’t blame strikers but they don’t get the coaching they need. One boy scores two or three goals, and we think he is a good striker. No. He needs to be coached on a regular basis.”
Broos has Lyle Foster and Orlando Pirates‘ Evidence Makgopa as the main forwards to rely on against Rwanda, although the Burnley striker was a fitness concern on Monday. He was dealt a huge blow after Mamelodi Sundowns gunslinger Iqraam Rayners left camp due to medical issues.
But wingers Mohau Nkota and Oswin Appollis can also be trusted to support the centre-forwards, with Broos hoping Rwanda have no effective plan to neutralise his attackers.
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