Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns are set to represent the continent in the Fifa Club World Cup that will be played in the United States from June 14 to July 13.
The South African heavyweights have been placed in a tough Group F that is also made up of Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, South American giants Fluminense, and Ulsan of South Korea. It will be a challenging outing for Masandawana, the same as the other three African teams – Al Ahly, Esperance and Wydad Casablanca.
Despite the massive test awaiting them, goalkeeper Ronwen Williams insists the Brazilians will stick to their style. He further believes that the Mzansi champions have what it takes to get out of the group.
We will play our football – Williams
“We will be ourselves and we will play our football, we will stick to our identity. We don't want to go there and start changing things and play a different way because of the strengths of the opposition,” the experienced 33-year-old Bafana Bafana captain told the media.
“We want to play our football and we believe that we've got enough to get out of the group and that'd be huge because when you look at the names in that group, it's big names in there. It will be tough, but we believe we will get out of it and show people who Mamelodi Sundowns are.
“It's been a difficult time, having lost the Champions League final [against Pyramids], but the good thing is that the coach gave us a few days off, five or six days off. You could see when we got back to training that the energy was back,” Williams concluded.
This is the first time teh Fifa Club World Cup is played by 32 teams.
