Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams says his side now know at what level they are, admitting there is lots of work to do following the heavy defeat by France.

Kylian Mbappe starred as the world champions humbled Bafana in Lille on Tuesday evening.

While the South Africans have looked to progress under Hugo Broos, Les Bleus romped to a massive victory courtesy of goals from Kylian Mbappe (2), Olivier Giroud, Wassim Ben Yedder and Matteo Guendouzi.

The Bafana captain was instrumental in staving off further embarrassment by making 11 saves in the encounter.

Speaking to the Bafana media department in the aftermath, Williams believes his side will be better for the experience of this tough game.

“It was a wonderful experience and we learned so much but, obviously, it was tough,” Williams said.

“We knew coming into the game that playing against the world champions wasn’t going to be easy and they showed their level – and it showed where we are as a nation and a team.

“There are positives to take out of this and that will make us a better team going forward, so now we’ve got a lot of things to work on.

“Matches like these are where you learn the most about your team and about your players and how they adapt to situations,” he added.

“We don’t have to look far. Since the coach has come in, we’ve played eight games against African opposition, won five, drew two and lost one. It shows that we are moving in a positive direction.

“Playing the world champions is not easy. We have to be honest and say that they are on a different level to us. But, in saying that, last week we played Guinea and we were bossing the game. We had as many chances as France had against us.

“Against our African opposition, who we will obviously face more often, I think we are comfortable and can compete against them.

“We weren’t far off qualifying for the World Cup and [if we qualified] we would’ve come up against world beaters like this,” he said.

“We know now the level we are at – we shouldn’t lie to ourselves – we’ve got a lot of work today and this will only make us a better team.”