Ronwen Williams identifies Bafana Bafana's AFCON advantages but warns his teammates 'it's nothing that you experience on a daily basis'

Mamelodi Sundowns star Ronwen Williams has listed advantages he believes Bafana Bafana have going into the Africa Cup of Nations finals.

Broos became the first coach to name his AFCON squad, and the players have been in camp for weeks now. The squad is also dominated by players from the Premier Soccer League.

Playing in the same league and against one another more regularly is something that Williams sees as an advantage.

“If I think of one advantage, it’s having 19 players in camp this week. I don’t think the others can say the same," the Sundowns star said, as per Soccer Laduma.

"Maybe our preparations are a bit better than others. We know each other very well; we play against each other week in, week out. The team spirit, the camaraderie, most of the players are in good form.”

The 33-year-old has been part of the Bafana squad for over a decade now, and although he is always the number one choice, he does not always assure himself that he will be called up.

“It’s amazing. I’ve been part of the Bafana setup for so long. And yet it still feels so special,” Williams added.

“Every time when there’s a squad announcement, I’m still watching it on TV. I don’t take it for granted that I’m the captain or that I’m performing. For me, it’s still an honour. And I will always treat it like that.

“This was a dream of mine. And not everyone can reach their dreams. I am living my dream, so I’ll make the most of it as much as I can. It’s amazing still being here, still being part of the setup," the PSL winner continued.

Williams is among the players who featured in the last AFCON edition and is the only one who played in the 2019 finals in Egypt.

“I obviously have the experience as well to help the boys and tell them that AFCON is a very, very difficult tournament. In the previous campaign, it was myself and Themba [Zwane] who shared our experiences," the experienced goalkeeper stated.

"We told the guys it’s a tough tournament; it’s nothing that you experience on a daily basis.

“Now the guys who were in the previous AFCON are doing that on my behalf, sharing the experiences, and that’s amazing,” he explained.

“There’s no game that will be easy at AFCON. I can’t see any lesser teams. But for us, we enjoy it. That’s the difference. We enjoy playing these high-pressure moments. For some weird reason, we just love it. And that’s when you get the best out of us.”

Just days ago, Williams described Bafana's camp as strange and weird at a time when Broos' comments on Mbokazi were a matter of intense public debate.

Broos later apologised for the comments made regarding the defender's move to Chicago Fire and about his agent.

“It has been a bit of a strange and weird camp for many reasons. We have not had a full squad, and it is difficult to prepare like that,” Williams said. 

“We have also had our own small problems as a team. But we are glad those things have happened. Going into a major tournament, it has given us a chance to sit together and sort things out.

“Training has been good, but we haven’t been at our best as well. Once the team settles down this week, things will be better. It has been a strange feeling … But we will sort it out and keep fighting," the goalkeeper added.

“Obviously, last week there was a lot of talk going around, and we don’t need that. All we need is support to go out and perform.”

South Africa will kickstart their campaign against Angola on December 22.