'Future looks very bright' for Finals-bound S. Africa

South Africa coach Hugo Broos claimed that after three years of hard work "the future looks very bright" for his team, as they qualified for the 2026 World Cup on Oct 14.

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The South Africans, Ivory Coast and Senegal all won convincingly on the same day to fill the last three automatic places reserved for Africa at the Finals in North America.

Senegal were the most impressive winners, hammering Mauritania 4-0, while Ivory Coast beat Kenya 3-0 and South Africa were also 3-0 winners, against Rwanda.

The trio will join Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Morocco, Ghana and Tunisia at the global showpiece in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Belgium-born coach Broos was thrilled as he represented his country as a player at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and wanted to coach a team at the tournament before retiring.

"We all knew that we could do it, we believed in ourselves. We are going to the World Cup and it is fantastic," said the 73-year-old.

"In the last three years we changed players and every time it was the right choice. What happened tonight is the work of three years and the future looks very bright for South African football.