Bafana’s Broos – ‘My team played a good game’
· Citizen
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos made the bizarre claim that his team had played well after their 2-0 loss to Mexico in the opening match of the 2026 Fifa World Cup at the Azteca Stadium on Thursday.
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Bafana’s Broos – ‘They didn’t know how to find space’
“I think my team played a good game,” Broos said in a post-match television interview.
“In some moments Mexico were desperate in in the game, they didn’t know how to find space. The only thing we must be better at in the next game is when we have the ball. We were not so good with that today, we have to work on it.”
Bafana fell behind in the ninth minute after midfielder Sphephelo Sithole gave away possession and Julian Quinones fired home.
Raul Jimenez’ back post header after the break doubled the hosts’ lead in front of a passionate home crowd in Mexico City.
Bafana also saw two players sent off in the second half. Sphephelo Sithole got his marching orders for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity when he brought down Brian Guiterrez. And Themba Zwane as also sent off after VAR ruled that he had struck Roberto Alvarado with his arm.
“I think the first red card (for Sithole), I won’t say anything about. With the second red card I think the Mexican player fouled my player. But the referee decided something else,” said Broos.
“It is a bit of a pity we had to finish the game with nine players.”
Broos’ comments about his team playing well are unlikely to go down well with those who saw Bafana’s performance as listless and lacking ambition.
‘We made two mistakes’
South Africa barely posed a threat to Mexico’s goal, even when they had 11 men on the pitch.
“When you play a game against the hosts you will be under pressure,” said Broos.
“But the only moment we were under pressure was in the first 20 minutes. After that we had the ball and played well. But we made two mistakes on our side. In those moments you don’t have to lose the ball. We lost the ball, and there was space for Mexico and they could score twice.”
Bafana do have time to recover in Group A and reach the knockout rounds. They will play Czechia in Atlanta on June 18 before their final group match against South Korea on June 24 in Guadalupe.