Williams: We worked so hard ... It took years of sacrifice

Hugo Broos engineered the first knockout round qualification for Bafana Bafana as they finished second behind Mexico in Group A. It was a game that South Africans will never forget

- By Yanga Sibembe

If it was up to some South Africans, Hugo Broos would have been fired as Bafana Bafana coach immediately after the team’s disappointing display at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco, which ended in a round-of-16 exit.

However, to its credit, the South African Football Association (Safa) backed the long-serving Belgian coach to lead the team at one last major tournament before his contract expires: the 2026 Fifa World Cup. After all, it’s Broos who orchestrated the side’s qualification for the tournament in the first place.

Now the 74-year-old has repaid the faith shown in him by the federation. Bafana Bafana reached the round of 32 of the World Cup taking place in Mexico, the US and Canada by beating South Korea 1-0 on Wednesday, 24 June, thanks to a strike by Cyprus-based winger Thapelo Maseko.

Whereas in the past South Africans would have been scrambling for their calculators, trying to see what favours from other countries the team still needed to move on to the second round, the victory has made it simple.

Bafana Bafana finished the group phase in second place and on four points in their allotted mini-league. Apart from the win over South Korea, the South Africans played to a one-all draw against Czechia and suffered a 2-0 loss to Mexico in their opening match. El Tri topped the group with three wins from their three matches and nine points in the bag.

Bafana Bafana’s bounce-back ability

The defeat against the Mexicans drew extensive criticism, much of which was aimed at Broos. Again, if it was up to some supporters and pundits, the Belgian coach would have suffered the same fate as his coaching counterpart Sabri Lamouchi.