South Africa may have already qualified for AFCON 2025 without even kicking a ball, but skipper Ronwen Williams says that Thursday night’s positive news will not affect the way Bafana Bafana approach Friday’s clash against Uganda in Kampala.

Both South Africa and Uganda secured passage to the continental showpiece in Morocco on Thursday when group minnows South Sudan secured a 3-2 win over Congo. That result meant third-place Congo could no longer catch either of the sides ahead of them.

Speaking to the media on arrival in Uganda, Williams said: “I want to congratulate South Africa and Uganda for qualifying, but that doesn’t change anything regarding Friday’s game. We want to finish the year on a positive note.

“We had a successful year, and we want to keep building on that. It is going to be a tough one, but we are looking forward to it. It has been an amazing week. We have some of our injured players back, which is great.

“But at the same time, we have lost some players, and we will be playing on their behalf because they have been on this journey with us. We are proud of our achievement in qualifying for back-to-back AFCON tournaments.

“It is a proud moment for the players and everyone associated with Bafana Bafana. We know Friday will have a great atmosphere, as we have many supporters in Uganda who follow our local league.”

Williams’ comments were echoed by coach Hugo Broos, who said: “We are very happy with our qualification for next year’s AFCON.

“It has been a fantastic year for South African football, starting with our bronze medal in the Ivory Coast and now with qualification for next year’s AFCON.

“Does qualification change anything for the game against Uganda? The answer is no. Maybe one thing: there will be less stress than if we had to win the game.

“We want to win because we want to finish top of the group, and that means we have to beat Uganda on Friday. I hope it will be a nice game, a full house, and that there will be enough atmosphere inside the stadium to motivate the players.”