Williams speaks on missed chances after World Cup exit

South Africa's captain Ronwen Williams has said that Bafana Bafana missed chances in front of goal. This led to their exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup after losing 1-0 to Canada in Los Angeles on Sunday, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

Stephen Eustáquio scored deep into stoppage time to give Canada the win in the Round of 32. This ended South Africa's historic run in their first-ever World Cup knockout match.

Despite a good run to the knockout stage, Hugo Broos’ team scored just two goals in four matches. Only one of those goals came from open play.

“The most important thing to take out is how clinical they are,” Williams said through ESPN.

“When I look through the tournament, the amount of chances we created, and we only managed to score two goals, so we need to be better.

“We need to be more clinical because at this level you’re not going to get too many chances. The chances you do get, you need to punish them and wrap up the game.”

South Africa held possession for long periods against Canada. They had 58 per cent of the ball and completed more passes and dribbles than Canada.

But they found it hard to turn that control into real chances. They had six shots while Canada had 12, and they only forced one save from goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau.

Even though their journey ended in disappointment, Bafana Bafana can take away some positives from reaching the knockout stage for the first time. Williams believes that improving their finishing is key if they want to compete regularly with the world's best.