Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams admits 'morale is a bit down' after Zimbabwe dented their 2026 FIFA World Cup ambitions but keeps hopes high as they 'believe in fairytales'

Bafana Bafana were held to a 0-0 draw by Zimbabwe in their penultimate 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday.

It was two precious points dropped by South Africa as they now have two points fewer than Group C leaders Benin.

For a team that was leading by three points a few weeks ago, before FIFA deducted points from them and then Friday's setback, Bafana seem to be throwing everything they had away. 

But captain Ronwen Williams believes they can still qualify for the World Cup despite morale being low in their camp. 

“The morale is a bit down, we have made things a bit difficult for ourselves,” said Williams as per Phakaaathi.
“We left it all on the field and you can’t fault the players’ effort or desire. Thanks to the fans for coming out and motivating us.  
“People will have doubts now, because if you look back a month, everything looked clear. But we still feel everything is working in our favour, we believe in fairytales.”

Bafana have not been at the World Cup since 2010 when they hosted the tournament.

But they last went to this competition through a qualification campaign in 2002, something they are currently pushing to achieve. 

That has been motivating coach Hugo Broos and his men to get it right after so many years of failing. 

Bafana are in a big test when they host Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday in what is their last match of this qualification campaign.