Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams has reacted to South Africa’s elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup following their heartbreaking defeat to Canada.
South Africa suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to the tournament co-hosts in their Round of 32 clash at Los Angeles Stadium on Sunday evening.
After frustrating Canada for more than 90 minutes, Hugo Broos’ side looked destined to extra time before conceding a late goal in stoppage time, ending their historic World Cup campaign.
Despite the disappointment, Williams said the team leaves the tournament with their heads held high.
The captain pointed to their resilience after recovering from a difficult start to the competition to reach the knockout stages, a feat many believed was beyond them.
“I’m proud of the boys, we showed our quality,” said Williams, as per SuperSport TV.
“We can leave here with our heads high, proud of the boys, the effort, the fight and character, the mindset to keep fighting.
“We didn’t have the best start to the tournament, our backs were against the wall but to come out here today and show up, show our worth, we can only be proud.
“It’s a very young team, this is good for them now, going into the future. But we can be proud.”