Watch VideoBafana Bafana’s Ronwen Williams embracing Fifa World Cup pressure cooker in Mexico City

Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams warms up before a training session ahead of their Fifa World Cup opener against Mexico. The euphoric yet intimidating atmosphere at the Estadio Azteca that will greetBafana Bafanawhen they play Mexico on June 11 does not faze captain Ronwen Williams. Instead, the skipper has revealed his team’s strategy to actively embrace the pressure while enjoying the magnitude of the moment.

Bafana Bafanawill make their triumphant return to the Fifa World Cup on Thursday night (9pm kick-off, SA time), 16 years after hosting the tournament on home soil — a spectacle that remains historic as the first-ever on the African continent. The South Africans are understandably ecstatic to find themselves back among the world’s elite footballing nations, feeling that five years of meticulous rebuilding underhead coach Hugo Broos has been fully rewarded by their qualification. Bafana are also set to make an immediate, highly symbolic mark on the tournament.

When they walk out to face co-hosts El Tri on June 11, they will roll back the years in a fixture that mirrors the iconic 2010 opening game at Soccer City in Johannesburg. While that nostalgic encounter drew an impressive crowd, the Azteca is expected to be filled to the rafters come Thursday night. The host nation’s fans will completely dominate the stands to create a colourful, deafening wall of sound designed to spur their team on and break the visitors.

[paywall]

Williams, however, is simply relishing a fixture that will command global attention, urging his teammates to “play the game, not the occasion” to systematically quieten the home crowd. “It’s wonderful. It’s going to be an amazing experience,” Williams toldIndependent Mediabefore the squad departed for their training base in Pachuca.

“Playing the opening game of the FifaWorld Cup — that’s probably the biggest game after the final itself. All eyes will be on us, and for us to be part of the opening match is something that I can’t fully describe. We are excited and looking forward to it, and we are well aware of the pressure that comes with it.

“It won’t be easy playing one of the host nations. They’ll have the partisan support and the backing of the whole country. We are there to compete and show our class.”

[/paywall]