Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams and young central defender Ime Okon.
Image: IANS
Captain Ronwen Williams has called on Bafana Bafana to build on their performance after their Round of 32 exit at the Fifa World Cup.
Bafana suffered heartbreak in stoppage time when Canada’s Stephen Eustáquio delivered the knockout blow in the 92nd minute in Los Angeles.
But the national team can still be proud of their efforts after reaching the knockout stages for the very first time.
“I'm excited for the future of the country,” said Williams. “To be playing at this level at such a young age, learning these lessons and experiences, can only be a positive for the team and for the players.
“For now, it shouldn't take us years and years again to be part of the World Cup. There needs to be a continuation, and I think there will be, because the young players are picking up valuable experience — playing at AFCON, playing at the Club World Cup, and playing at the World Cup now. So, we need to keep going as a country and as a team.”
Williams had particularly high praise for the two youthful centre-backs, Ime Okon (22) and Mbekezeli Mbokazi (20).
“They've been magnificent throughout the tournament, especially having two young centre-backs in front of you,” Williams said. “I mean, at that level, you normally have your experienced players there, and they showed their quality. I'm so proud of not only the two of them — there are so many young players in the team.”
For all the superb performances from the defence, Bafana lacked a cutting edge up front, managing to score just two goals — one of which was a penalty — in four matches.
“We showed that we can compete. We need to stick to what we know, but I think the most important thing that you take away is how clinical the top teams are,” Williams added. “I mean, when I look back throughout the tournament, despite the amount of chances we created, we only managed to score two goals, if I'm not mistaken.
“So, we need to be better. We need to be more clinical, because at this level, you're not going to get too many chances. The chances you do get, you need to punish the opposition and wrap up the game.
“And I mean, I've mentioned this before — at the Club World Cup, at AFCON — you can dominate the ball, but the most important thing is to put the ball in the back of the net. So, there are a lot of lessons and experiences to take from this, but I'm just proud of the boys and the fight they showed.”