Williams: Bafana Bafana must turn home advantage into Afcon points

Ronwen Williams says Bafana Bafana have identified home form as crucial to their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, with Guinea visiting Orlando Stadium on Saturday at 15:00.

The goalkeeper, one of coach Pitso Mosimane’s captains, stressed that South Africa must make a winning start to their campaign and take full advantage of playing in front of their own supporters.

Williams said the team’s experiences in recent years had reinforced the importance of securing maximum points at home during qualification campaigns.

“We know how important it is during qualifiers to collect maximum points at home because you never know what you are going to get on the other side,” he said at Friday’s pre-match press conference.

“There is a lot at stake, and we know the conditions and travelling at this level. The most important thing for us is to control what we can, and that’s making use of our home ground advantage with our supporters.”

South Africa’s first three points would also give them an early advantage in a group where the players are already assessing which teams are likely to challenge them directly for qualification.

“When we play at home, you see a different team. You see the energy and feel the love from the supporters,” added Williams.

“So, we know how important it is to get the first three points on the board. You also check the group and see who will be your direct rivals.”

Guinea coach Paulo Duarte was absent from his pre-match press conference, an omission viewed as an attempt at mind games, but Williams said Bafana Bafana were preparing for a difficult contest regardless.

The South Africa goalkeeper believes victory would ease the pressure at the start of the qualifying campaign while leaving Guinea with ground to recover.

“We know that Guinea are not going to make it easy. If we can start on a positive note and get three points, that will be one less headache, and they will be on a minus,” he said.

Williams added that the message within the South Africa camp had been consistent throughout the week: home matches must be won if the team are to put themselves in a strong position to reach the tournament.

“We know how important it is, and the good thing is that we have picked up the experience over the past few years that you must win your home games,” he said.

“That’s the spirit that we have, and it is the talk that has been in and around the camp this week. We want to make sure that we win our home games; if we do that, we should be OK to qualify.”