Beating Mali is a must – Mark Williams

By Charles Baloyi
11th January 2024

As the Africa Cup of Nations tournament looms, Bafana Bafana is gearing up for their highly anticipated participation.

Bafana’s legendary striker Mark Williams is confident that securing a victory in the opening Group E clash against Mali will be a catalyst for their advancement to the knockout stages.

The biennial tournament is scheduled to commence on Saturday and will extend until February 11.

Bafana is set to kick off their campaign against Mali on Tuesday at 7pm. Speaking at a send-off event held at Southern Sun OR Tambo Airport, Williams shared with SABC Sport that the key to progressing to the knockout stages hinges on garnering maximum points against Mali and Namibia, concluding the round-robin phase against Tunisia.

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"Look it is not an easy group especially when we talk about Mali. With Mali, we've always had difficulties but like I said Tunisia are a very difficult team, a difficult defensive team, the structure they play they put you uncomfortable, they make sure that they block everything and if you lose concentration, which a lot of teams sometimes do. They punish you but for me winning against Mali is a must,” Williams said.

“Then that gives the players the confidence with three points. Then you get Namibia and once you beat Namibia you don't have to worry about Tunisia then you play the other 11 guys. Then let the others rest and pick the best from the first 11 and the one that played against Tunisia and then you pick your strongest team then and say go and win the next round from the group."

Williams expresses worry regarding the source of goals during the upcoming tournament.

The insufficient goal production by Bafana in significant international competitions is a matter of concern for the 1996 AFCON-winning striker.

"For me, it’s that we've always been lacking scoring goals and I think that's a big part in tournaments. When you play you need to have a guy that's gonna score goals on a regular basis and if we can get that department right, I think Bafana will be a threat to every team they play against."