The World Cup is now just two months away, and with the final qualifiers now complete, the entire slate for the World Cup is now set. For the first time ever, 48 teams will head to Canada, the United States, and Mexico to compete for the World Cup trophy, including a record 10 teams from Africa.
For the first time since they hosted the tournament in 2010, South Africa are among the African contingent. With plenty to prove in their first time on the world stage in over a decade, a really tough group selection full of international talent, and with the lingering disappointment of the early AFCON exit still hanging over their heads, can Bafana Bafana prove the doubters wrong and make waves in the 2026 World Cup?
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South Africa’s group of death
South Africa have been drawn into Group A, a tough group full of teams who are hungry for an appearance in the knockout stages.
Bafana Bafana get to open the tournament against hosts Mexico in Mexico City. The odds are bound to be stacked against them as Mexico eye a historic tournament run. Mexico then travel to Atlanta to face the Czech Republic, who managed to beat Denmark on penalties for a place in the tournament. Finally, South Africa face off against South Korea, tournament regulars attending their 11th straight World Cup.
Mexico will be hoping to top the group and make a great start in their own tournament, while the Czech Republic and South Korea would both consider a group stage exit to be a disappointment. South Africa are up against serious talent.
South Africa’s new start under Hugo Broos
Since manager Hugo Broos took over South Africa in 2021, he has transformed the team into a well-drilled and resilient side. He has formed a side based around a core of players, most of whom come from the top team in South Africa, the Mamelodi Sundowns. It gives the side a connection between much of its core that most national teams will struggle to ever create.
The goal of South Africa is to become a team that is hard to beat. Much of their football revolves around making it hard for higher-quality opponents to play the football they want to play, to frustrate and bog down technical midfielders and isolate strong attackers.
They head into the World Cup as the least favoured team in their group, but with their chemistry and tactical acumen, they can upset any team given the right circumstances and their best performances.
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