By Hlayisani Magoro.
Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams has urged his team to swiftly book their spot in the 2027 Africa Cup Of Nations (AFCON), with only one qualification slot up for grabs in Group D.
South Africa are set to host Kenya in a high-stakes AFCON qualifier at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Friday, although the Harambee Stars have already qualified as cohosts alongside Uganda and Tanzania.
Pitso Mosimane’s men head into the match sitting at the summit of Group D, having amassed six points in their opening two matches, and are level on points with Guinea, who played one game more.
With the encounter looming, Williams stressed the grave importance of getting the job done pronto in order to play with ease in the closing stages of the qualifiers next year in March.
“We know that our group is a bit different to all the other groups, we know we’ve got Kenya in our group and we know what that means – it means only one team qualifies. And if we look in this moment, it’s between us and Guinea,” said the Bafana skipper.
“So, we’ve started well, we need to keep going now and make sure that we maintain our position because we don’t want to get our calculators out come March because it’s a very stressful moment.
“If we can wrap it up as soon as possible then we can play with freedom and less pressure, less stress, and that’s when you can play at your best. The main focus now is Kenya and it’s going to be a challenge, it’s going to be tough for many reasons.”
While Bafana are currently the table-toppers, the 34-year-old shot-stopper says they must up the ante and maintain momentum, with Guinea and winless Eritrea also gunning for the top spot.
“We started well, we need to maintain that, and when you look at the board and see ourselves on top it looks good but we know there’s a lot of sacrifices and we know people are gunning for that position as well,” Williams added.
“So, we need to up our sleeves and if you saw training this week, the level was tough, it was like a match and coach [Pitso Mosimane] can attest to how the mentality has been this week, the work that we’ve done.”
Bafana will be hell-bent on securing a favourable result against Kenya on home soil, before the second meeting of their double-header at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Tuesday, 17 November.