Bafana Bafana of South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has labelled the 2026 FIFA World Cup a success for his side ahead of their round of 32 clash with Canada, www.aclsports.com reports.
The South Africans, who lost their opening group game to Mexico, took four points from the remaining two games to finish second in the Group and reach the knockout stages for the first time in their history.
The first Round of 32 match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 pits two teams against each other who have never before reached the knockout stages of the global showpiece.
Ahead of their first-ever knockout match, South Africa coach Hugo Broos and defender Ime Okon take stock of what they’ve already achieved.
“I can’t deny that in these five years, the team didn’t progress and that I didn’t change something in South Africa,” Broos said about the growth of the side. “In the beginning it was very difficult. Everyone said, Bafana Bafana is a joke. People didn’t really understand what I was doing.
“I called up players of smaller teams, I was just building a team and it took a little bit of time before they understood what happened. With our bronze medal two years ago in Côte d’Ivoire at AFCON, suddenly the eyes opened.”
Despite being one of the nine African teams to reach the Round of 32, Broos insists his side is aiming for much more.
“We can already say now that the World Cup is a success for us,” Broos disclosed about the performance at the World Cup.
“Everybody expected and hoped that we’d reach the second round – and we did. This is important. But that doesn’t mean that we are happy now and that we just play the game tomorrow and go home. Once you are there, you want more,” Broos concluded.
For his part, defender Ime Okon acknowledged the historic achievement of reaching the Round of 32, while emphasizing that the team is fully aware of the immense support they continue to receive from fans back home.
“It’s a historic moment for us as a country. We’re really happy and excited for it,” the Germany-based defender said.
“The support we’ve been getting from everybody back home has really motivated us and helps us when we get onto the pitch. We’re not only working for ourselves and our families, but we’re working for our whole country back at home. That’s just one extra motivation for us to [leave it all] on the pitch,” Okon added.
South Africa and Canada will clash at the Los Angeles Stadium for a place in the round of 16 on Sunday.
