Ronwen Williams’ path to redemption: Overcoming THAT moment to forget against Borussia Dortmund
SHOCKING MOMENT Borussia Dortmund's German midfielder Felix Nmecha (R) celebrates next to Mamelodi Sundowns' South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams after scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group F football match at the TQL stadium in Cincinnati on June 21, 2025. Picture: Federico Parra/AFP
Image: Federico Parra/AFP
It’s no exaggeration to say that Ronwen Williams is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but that counted little when he made a schoolboy error for Mamelodi Sundowns against Borussia Dortmund in the Club World Cup match last week.
Sundowns had begun their Group F match in explosive fashion, taking the lead in just the 11th minute through a Lucas Ribeiro goal.
However, just five minutes later Williams made perhaps the most basic and glaring mistake of his career on the biggest stage. Fielding the ball in his own box closer to the corner flag than his goals, he passed the ball straight to Felix Nmecha who could not believe his luck as he slotted the ball into the open net.
Of course Williams was trying to pick out his defender, but his terrible pass allowed Nmecha to easily intercept the ball to score one of the easiest goals of his career.
Sundowns Dominate but Fall Short Against Dortmund: A Tense Match with Lessons Learned
This is not the typical, calm, composed world-beater South Africans are used to watching when they settle in to watch a Sundowns or Bafana Bafana game.
Though Sundowns went on to lose the match 4-3, they actually dominated the contest with 60% of the ball and double the number of shots at goal Dortmund managed with 16 in total.
Still, after Williams’ error Dortmund quickly showed why they are one of the best teams in Europe as they made the most of their few chances as they built a 3-1 lead by half-time.
By the time they found their fourth on the hour mark, it left Sundowns with a mountain to climb. Even though Sundowns made it 4-2 two minutes after going three goals down, it meant they needed a miracle in the closing stages to pull off a draw which they nearly pulled off.
One has to wonder though, if Sundowns in the early stages had not gifted Dortmund that equaliser how different the contest could have been if the SA outfit were allowed to consolidate their surprise lead.
All that is left now is for Williams to produce a flawless performance against Fluminense on Wednesday.
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