Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos insists South Africa’s 2026 FIFA World Cup dream remains alive despite suffering a disappointing defeat to hosts Mexico in the tournament opener on Thursday night. South Africa went down 2-0 at a packed Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with goals from Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez securing victory for the hosts.
Bafana’s task was made significantly more difficult after midfielder Sphephelo Sithole and captain Themba Zwane were both shown red cards in the 49th and 84th minutes, respectively, reducing them to nine men by the final whistle.
The pair will now miss South Africa’s crucial second Group matches against Czechia in Atlanta, United States, on 18 June.
Despite the setback, Broos remains convinced his side can still reach the knockout stages.
“In a tournament, you never have to think too far because everything can happen. For us, the goal stays the same as it was a week ago. We’d like to survive the group stages, and it’s still possible,” said Broos.
“OK, the start was not good; it was not what we expected. We didn’t want to lose today, but then it is what it is, so we have to try to get the points in the next two games, and we will see.”
BROOS EXPLAINS TACTICAL APPROACH
The veteran Belgian coach also defended his tactical setup against Mexico, suggesting his side had succeeded in frustrating the tournament hosts for large periods of the contest.
Broos felt Mexico struggled to break down South Africa after their dominant opening spell and became increasingly frustrated in possession.
“I think when you saw the game, you know why I did that because again, except for the first 15 minutes, when the pressure of Mexico was so high,” he explained.
“After that, Mexico became desperate; they didn’t know what to do with the ball. The two central defenders were just working with their feet… they didn’t see the solution.”
While the defeat leaves Bafana under pressure heading into their remaining group fixtures against Czechia and South Korea, Broos believes his players will recover mentally and physically before their next assignment.
“There are still seven days [before the next group match], and these guys are professionals. If you cannot recuperate in seven days before another game, that is ridiculous,” said Broos.
“I do not think it will be a problem. We need the next two days to get over today’s disappointment and also the fatigue. The guys will be ready again from Saturday to Sunday to have good training.”
The coach, however, acknowledged that improvements are needed in the final third after South Africa struggled to create clear-cut scoring opportunities against Mexico.
“Also, we have to work on our offensive game because it was not enough today.”
Bafana Bafana are scheduled to return to their base camp in Pachuca on Friday before continuing preparations for their must-win encounter against Czechia in Atlanta next week. Victory in that fixture would revive South Africa’s hopes of progressing to the knockout stages despite their opening-day disappointment.