Speaking to the media yesterday at Moses Mabhida Stadium, ahead of their first of two international friendlies against Panama, Williams echoed coach Hugo Broos’ sentiments on their last 16 exit in Morocco.
However, the skipper also sees the build-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup as an opportunity to get the team back to where it belongs. “It was a painful three months because of our experience at AFCON and the disappointment, so I think there was a lot of reflection done and a lot of guys had to go and check where we got it wrong, our identity as a team,” said Williams.
“And it was a very painful moment, but I think we’ve had a good chat with the coach and the technical team, over the last few days, and you can see the team is slowly coming back – the identity and energy at training has been amazing.
“So hopefully we can keep that and learn from AFCON, and just grow and try and be better.”
With just three months to the start of the World Cup, when Bafana will play the opening game against co-hosts Mexico, Williams says facing Panama is the kind of pressure they need exposure to going to the global showpiece.
“It’s a good pressure to have, it shows you are doing well and you’re still part of all these major tournaments, and you’ve got something to play for,” he added.”It keeps you focussed, it keeps you ready, and obviously knowing in the back of your mind that in a few months, there’s the big one, which is the World Cup.
“So everyone has something to play for, there’s a lot of motivation, and it’s a good headache to have – but hopefully there aren’t any major problems from now until then, so that we can go out there will all our soldiers, our full squad, and just be war ready.”