Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams has revealed the immense emotional toll of their opening World Cup defeat to Mexico. Photo: Backpagepix
For two days after suffering a demoralising 2-0 loss in the opening match of the 2026 Fifa World Cup, the Bafana Bafana training camp was solemnly silent, filled with anguish, according to captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
Weighing their actions for two days before heading back to training camp for their second group match against Czechia is how the boys spent the past few days.
Williams said there was a lot of emotions to deal with, especially given how much the team dedicated to get there. Having their big moment blow up in their faces, with the entire world watching, was a lot to deal with mentally.
"After the game it was it was difficult. We felt disappointment and pain because we worked so hard for that opening game. And over the last few years, we worked hard to get here to this moment. It hurt us so much in terms of our performance and result.
