Ronwen Williams: Cameroon Legend Lauds South Africa Goalie, Lifts Lid on Secret to Saving Penalties

Ronwen Williams: Cameroon Legend Lauds South Africa Goalie, Lifts Lid on Secret to Saving Penalties

Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe, Edwin Kiplagat
updated at February 5, 2024 at 6:03 PM
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R. Williams
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  • Ronwen Williams's penalty saves sent South Africa to the AFCON semi-fina;
  • The Mamelodi Sundowns' goalkeeper saved four penalties against Cape Verde
  • Cameroon legend Joseph-Antoine Bell has praised the goalkeeper

South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams was Bafana Bafana's hero in their quarter-final win over Cape Verde.

Legendary Cameroon goalkeeper Joseph-Antoine Bell has showered praise on the Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper following his spectacular penalty saves against Cape Verde.

Ronwen Williams, South Africa, Cape Verde AFCON
Ronwen Williams has been one of South Africa's best performers at AFCON. Photos by CAF.
Source: Instagram

Williams was instrumental in South Africa's 2-1 win over Cape Verde. He made a string of great saves in regulation time before rising to the occasion in the penalty shootout, per BBC.

Williams made history as he became the first goalkeeper to save four penalties in a single AFCON tournament. The win saw South Africa reach the AFCON semis for the first time since 2000.

Bell won two AFCON titles with Cameroon and, therefore, understands how a top goalkeeper should perform in big moments. He exclusively told Sports Brief the secret to saving penalties.

"Williams is seriously a very good goalkeeper. There's no secret in stopping penalties. But you need to be intelligent in order to do what he did. Kudos to Williams."

South Africa face Nigeria in the semi-final, with a place in the final at stake, per Opta Analyst.

Nigeria vs South Africa preview

Sports Brief also previewed the Nigeria vs South Africa semi-final showdown set for Wednesday, February 7.

The Super Eagles are yet to lose in this year's AFCON, registering two wins and a draw in the group stage before beating Cameroon and Angola in the knockout rounds.

Meanwhile, South Africa recorded a win, a draw and a loss in the group stages before beating Morocco in the last 16.

Nigeria eliminated South Africa in the 2019 AFCON.

Broos hails Williams after defeating Cape Verde

Sports Brief earlier reported on Hugo Broos praising goalkeeper Ronwen Williams for his stellar performance in the penalty shootout against Cape Verde's Blue Sharks.

Williams set a new record in the Africa Cup of Nations as he became the first shot-stopper to four penalties in a shootout.

Authors
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe photo
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe is a Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and La Liga editor with five-year experience. He previously worked with Sports Corna and 360SportsGH.
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.