Williams targeting a place in the knockout phase at club world cup

Mamelodi Sundowns might be wounded heading into the FIFA Club World Cup, but Ronwen Williams believes they have what it takes to reach the knockout phase.

The Brazilians will have to overcome the disappointment of losing in the CAF Champions League final when they line up at the global showpiece this month in the United States. 

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Standing in their way of a place in the last 16 of the tournament are South Korean side Ulsan HD, Germany’s Borussia Dortmund, and Brazil’s Fluminense where the top two teams after a round robin phase will advance to the next knockout round. 

While Dortmund are expected to top Group F, Sundowns and Fluminense will be hot on their heels for the runners-up spot. Fluminense were losing finalists in the 2023 edition of the competition where they came second best to Manchester City in Saudi Arabia.

“We just have to be ourselves, play our football and stick to our identity because we don’t want to go out there and start changing things and playing a different way because of the strength of our opposition,” Williams said. 

“We want to play our football because we believe that we have enough to get out of the group. To get out of the group would be positive and it will also be massive for us. 

“When you look at our group, there are some big names there and it will be tough but we believe that we can get out of it. We will show people who Mamelodi Sundownssundowns are and what I saw at training is wonderful.”

The Tshwane giants secured qualification for the world spectacle as the second-highest ranked eligible team via a CAF ranking system between 2021 and 2024. Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca, and Espérance complete the quartet of African teams taking part in the competition.

“Yes, it’s an amazing feeling. This is historical for the club and the country. It’s been a long time coming because we know how hard we fought to be here and we sacrificed so much,” Williams added. 

“There were a lot of competitions during the season that we needed to focus on. We only started focusing on the club world cup this week after a difficult time when we lost the CAF Champions League final. 

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“In a perfect world, it would have been great for us to wrap up the champions league and lift the trophy and go to the world cup as continental champions but obviously, it would’ve given us confidence but now we need to dig deep.”