South African legend Mark Williams believes Bafana Bafana’s best chance of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup is now given the good momentum they have.
South Africa sealed qualification to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations without losing a match, finishing top of their group, after securing wins against Uganda and South Sudan in their final two matches.
That has got fans dreaming of a first World Cup ticket since their home tournament in 2010 and Williams is among those who feel there is enough quality to end the long wait given what has been witnessed in the qualifiers.
“Listen, if I was the coach, I was probably going to answer that, but it's a tough thing because everyone wants to play in the World Cup,” Williams told SABC.
Mark Williams impressed by Hugo Broos’ work
“I think it's there for the taking, they've got a couple of difficult away results that they'll need to get, but at the end of the day, it's all about their belief.”
Bafana Bafana have been impressive under veteran coach Hugo Broos, who led them to third place at the AFCON 2023, before sealing qualification to next year’s tournament in Morocco and Williams has paid glowing tribute to the Belgian tactician.
“I think Hugo Broos has been doing a brilliant job. I thought his time is overdue because he's one of the longest-serving coaches there,” added Williams.
“But now you can see they understand one another, the players and the coach are together, and that's why we can see glimpses of success, and that's a good sign.”
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South Africa are in a tight World Cup qualifying group where they have seven points from four matches, same as Rwanda and Benin, with Lesotho on five while Nigeria have three.
They face Lesotho at home before a visit to Benin in March with Williams urging them to believe in themselves if they want to secure qualification.
“It's not just about talent, but it's also about belief – it's about faith, and also about team spirit, and that's what I'm seeing glimpses of, so if we can have that and put it together then we're on our way to qualifying, but it's a long way to go,” said Williams.
