"We believe in fairytales," says Ronwen Williams despite Bafana Bafana setback

The draw with the Warriors at the Moses Mabhida Stadium left South Africa in second place in Group C, two points behind leaders Benin with just one game to play.

Bafana need a win over Rwanda at the Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday and hope that Nigeria can beat Benin, or their hopes of playing in the finals will be over.

Only the group winners qualify to attend the 2026 World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year.

Reflecting on their situation that leaves qualification out of their hands, the Bafana skipper said in the Citizen: "The morale is a bit down, we have made things a bit difficult for ourselves.

"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."

Williams added that he expects Nigeria to get a result against Benin, who last saw off Rwanda 1-0 as the Super Eagles beat Lesotho 2-1.

"Now it is (also) down to Nigeria against Benin," added the goalkeeper.

“I can't see Benin getting a result in Nigeria. It is just for us to get the job done. We know how important the game will be. We have a score to settle with Rwanda, they are the only team that beat us (in qualifying).”