Williams warns Sundowns of Al Ahli’s World Cup experience

Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams has identified Al Ahli’s international stars as a major threat before today’s FIFA African-Asian Pacific Cup final at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

Sundowns reached the match after winning the CAF Champions League, securing their second continental title in 10 years. Al Ahli earned their place by beating Auckland FC in the playoffs last month.

The winners will advance to the Challenger Cup, where they will face the team that wins the FIFA Derby of the Americas.

Williams expects a demanding contest against an Al Ahli squad containing several players who represented their countries at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He also singled out his fellow goalkeeper, Eduardo Mendy of Senegal.

“When you look at their team, there’s so many guys that were at the World Cup,” Williams told the Mamelodi Sundowns media department.

He mentioned Merih Demiral, Roger Ibanez and Ivan Toney, as well as Mendy and Francisco Trincao.

“Merih [Demiral] played for Turkey, [Roger] Ibanez with Brazil, and obviously like you mentioned, Ivan Toney, Mendy as well,” Williams said.

“Someone that you know, obviously I know quite well, having watched his career and see him achieve amazing things with Senegal.

“So, it’ll be good to finally face him. I haven’t got an opportunity to play against him, and obviously I’ve taken keen interest on his career and what he’s done for the goalkeeping department-you know-he’s been amazing.”

Williams believes the experience within Al Ahli’s squad could make the final particularly competitive, although he also feels Sundowns possess players with comparable international backgrounds.

“It’s a team with a lot of experience, high-quality players,” he added. “[Francisco] Trincao that was in the Portuguese national team as well.

“So, it’s going to be a good one because if you look at our side I think we’ve also got a number of players that were at the World Cup. It’s going to be a good competition, a good game.

“And we just need to prepare well. And we know it’s going to be difficult. It’s not going to be easy.”

The Bafana Bafana captain said Sundowns had not yet completed a detailed tactical assessment of their opponents, but the team had watched several Al Ahli matches and monitored their domestic form.

“We didn’t really get time to analyse them, but we have watched a few of their games here and there to familiarize ourselves with them,” Williams said.

He described Al Ahli’s results as inconsistent, noting that they had won many matches but also suffered defeats. Their attacking record has stood out, with the Saudi side scoring close to three goals per game, although they have also conceded regularly.

Williams said Sundowns had experienced a similar pattern in their own domestic campaign, scoring heavily while allowing more goals than usual.

“So hopefully we can rectify our mistakes,” he said. “Obviously, we got this week now to work on it, and just look forward to this massive, massive, massive FIFA intercontinental final.”