Ronwen Williams has had a taste of performing on the global stage, and he’s hungry for more.
The goalkeeper was part of the Mamelodi Sundowns team whose fluid and fearless football won many admirers at the FIFA Club World Cup™. In less than 12 months, the South Africa captain is intent on returning to North America to compete at the biggest-ever FIFA World Cup™.
“We have quite a few national team players at Sundowns, and we spoke about how we need to be back here next year,” Williams said. “We want to be the first generation to play at the Club World Cup and the World Cup. It would be amazing.”
Over the course of this interview, Williams opens up on the key shift which has powered South Africa’s impressive qualification campaign to date, the pain of missing out on previous tournaments, and coach Hugo Broos’ uncompromising mentality.
First, we look back on his unforgettable Club World Cup experience. Mamelodi Sundowns may have narrowly missed on advancing to knockout phase, but Williams revealed why pride was his overwhelming emotion after returning home from the USA.
“We stuck to our true identity,” said the 33-year-old. “We showed the ‘shoeshine and piano’ style Sundowns are known for. Being at the Club World Cup is what dreams are made of. It gave us an opportunity to play against the best, players and teams that you’ve never thought that you’d face in your life. It’s history for the club, it’s history for the players, and it’s history for the country.”
Williams recorded clean sheets in two of Sundowns’ group-stage games, as they beat Ulsan 1-0 and drew 0-0 with Fluminense. They also pushed Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund all the way in a 4-3 thriller, a game which perhaps offered the purest example of the team’s expressive philosophy.
It was also the match when Sundowns striker Lucas Ribeiro opened the scoring with a goal voted as the best of the tournament.
“I’m so, so proud of Lucas,” said Williams. “He showed his worth against the best of the best. And that goal, oh my God! That’s the type of thing you see from the Messis of this world. It was actually a very well-orchestrated goal. From the build-up, to getting the ball to the number 10 on the turn, and then obviously Lucas’ individual brilliance. You saw at the end of the move, we were 3v1 with the goalkeeper! That’s the type of team we are.”
Williams displayed his resilience against Dortmund, recovering admirably after a loose pass led to the German team’s equalising goal.
“I’m mentally strong,” he said. “I played my normal game after that. That’s how I always am. I’m always focused on the next action. I hardly make any mistakes, but when I do, I know it’s going to be in the back of my net and people are going to criticise me. But that shouldn’t change me as a person. It shouldn’t change me as a player.”
It is that strength of character which convinced South Africa coach Broos to select him as the national team captain.
“It means the world to me to wear the armband,” said Williams. “The wonderful thing about being in the Bafana set-up is I don’t have to say much because of what we’ve built over the last few years.
“I’ve always asked myself, ‘What type of captain am I?’ I think I’ve been blessed in that I can recognise when someone is struggling. I have this sixth sense, and I can see when someone needs an arm around the shoulder or a scalding. With the national team, we’ve got guidelines and strict rules in place. And when I see guys are not implementing or respecting that, that’s when I’ll raise my voice. But there are not a lot of issues. We have an incredible spirit.”
Williams’ influence is underlined by South Africa’s exceptional sequence of results when he is in the team. With him between the sticks, they are unbeaten since their CAF Africa Cup of Nations semi-final loss to Nigeria in February 2024. They reached the last four of that tournament in remarkable circumstances, with Williams saving four penalties – an AFCON record – in their quarter-final shootout success over Cabo Verde.
South Africa’s impressive form has taken them five points clear at the top of their World Cup qualifying group with just four games remaining. The first-placed team are guaranteed a ticket to the finals, and a spot at the global showpiece is within sight.
“I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it,” said Williams. “I know what it would mean to South Africa as a whole, what it would mean for 60 million people. We’re the people’s team. And for us, not being at the highest level, playing at the biggest tournaments… It’s hurting. It hurts and it pains. I know what the World Cup would do for the country. It will inspire a nation.”
Asked to identify the main factors behind South Africa’s significant upturn over the past 18 months, Williams said: “In the past, because of the rivalries of the clubs that we had, I think it sort of affected us. Now we all fight for the same badge. It’s like a brotherhood.
“The rugby boys winning their World Cup back-to-back, that inspired us as well. They have played a major role, 100 per cent. They have given us belief that we can have success.
“The coach has been amazing too. I can remember telling people since day one [when Broos took his first camp in June 2021] that there’s going to be a lot of success here. I could see what he was about and that was he was not scared to do things his way. He stuck with his guns and now you can see what he’s building.”
If South Africa can secure a World Cup berth, it will mark the nation’s first appearance since they hosted the tournament in 2010. Williams was aged 18 when the sport’s greatest event came to his home country, and he holds cherished memories from that time.
“The biggest thing I remember is Siphiwe Tshabalala’s goal in the opening game,” he recalled. “I was at my friend’s house, and you heard people were going crazy and all the cars hooting! That goal will forever live in my memory. I think it will for the whole of South Africa.”
By that stage, Williams was making his name as a talented young goalkeeper. In his formative years, however, he had shown considerable promise as an attacker.
“Honestly, if I stayed outfield, I think I could have made it professional as well. I had some skills and pace.”
Those skills may well be in the family DNA. Williams’ 12-year-old son, Mikyle, is a striker in the Mamelodi Sundowns academy – a development which has led to some competitive training sessions in the Williams’ back yard.
“I make it tough for him,” said Williams, who also has a one-year-old daughter. “I tell him, ‘There’s a lot of guys in the league who struggle to score past me, so I can’t make it easy for you!’ He needs to work hard for it.
“Mikyle loves soccer. We wanted to take the kids to the Club World Cup, but because of schooling and things, it was difficult. My boy said, ‘If you guys qualify for the World Cup, I’m coming, I don’t mind missing a couple of weeks of school.’ It would amazing for him to see his dad there.”
South Africa will resume their World Cup qualifying campaign in September with a double-header against Lesotho and Nigeria. Positive outcomes in those contests – combined with results of other Group C matches going their way – could see Williams and Co clinch their place at the tournament with games to spare.
“Everything is perfectly set up for us in next month’s fixtures,” Williams said. “We can probably put one foot into the World Cup. Both games are in South Africa, in Bloemfontein, and the stadium will be packed. We have our rivalry with Nigeria, so that game will be massive. If we beat them, then I think their chances are very, very slim [Nigeria are in fourth place, six points behind South Africa]. They will be thinking this is their chance to get closer to us, so it will be tough.
“We have to be ready. I can already see coach Hugo telling us not to spoil the party. If we win both games, or get four points, then it’s one foot in the door.”
If they were to reach the promised land, Williams spelled out the magnitude of the achievement.
“I know it would unite the country,” he said. “The South African people would be able to forget about some of the problems we’re facing and just be happy get behind the boys at the World Cup. We’re so close. We can’t let them down now.”