\t\t\t\t\tOverview:<\/p>\n
Broos has changed the Bafana Bafana game, rejuvenated the side and handed debuts to promising young players such as Thalente Mbatha, Oswin Appollis and Evidence Makgopa, all of whom played a major role in their World Cup qualification.<\/p>\n
For the first time since 2010 when they became the first African nation to host the global event, South Africa returns to the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Like it was on home soil, they face Mexico among others in the group that also has Czech Republic and Asian giants South Korea.<\/p>\n
They have never played beyond the group stages and the target will be to do so in the expanded World Cup.<\/p>\n
Head coach- Hugo Broos<\/p>\n
The Belgian has been at the helm of South Africa since May 2021 and is arguably the longest serving in the position<\/p>\n
Broos has changed the Bafana Bafana game, rejuvenated the side and handed debuts to promising young players such as Thalente Mbatha, Oswin Appollis and Evidence Makgopa, all of whom played a major role in their World Cup qualification.<\/p>\n
Broos has made South Africa one of the most respected footballing nations on the continent again having led them to a third-place finish at the 2023 AFCON.<\/p>\n
How they qualified<\/p>\n
South Africa qualified for their fourth global showpiece by finishing first in Group C of CAF qualifying with a record of five wins, three draws and two defeats from a tough group that had Nigeria and Benin.<\/p>\n
Bafana Bafana were second in the group heading into their finale at home against Rwanda and took care of business with a 3-0 victory.<\/p>\n
All eyes were on third-place Nigeria\u2019s home fixture with group leaders Benin, and a 4-0 win for the Super Eagles propelled South Africa into the top spot and a place in the World Cup.<\/p>\n
History at World Cup<\/p>\n
Best World Cup: Group stage (1998, 2002, 2010)<\/p>\n
Last World Cup: 2010 (Group stage)<\/p>\n
First World Cup: 1998 (Group stage)<\/p>\n
World Cup appearances: 4 (1998, 2002, 2010, 2026)<\/p>\n
Current run of successive qualifications: One<\/p>\n
World Cup hosts: 2010 (Group stage)<\/p>\n
Overall World Cup record: P9 W2 D4 L3 F11 A16<\/p>\n
South Africa\u2019s top scorers at the World Cup<\/p>\n
Shaun Bartlett and Benni McCarthy serve as the join-top scorers in South Africa\u2019s World Cup history with two goals apiece.<\/p>\n
Bartlett tallied both of his goals in the dramatic 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia at France 1998, while McCarthy\u2019s two goals were spread across his appearances at France 1998 and Korea\/Japan 2002, making him the only South African player to have scored at two different World Cups.<\/p>\n
McCarthy scored in his side\u2019s 1-1 draw against Denmark in 1998, followed by his team\u2019s first goal in a 3-2 loss to Spain in 2002.<\/p>\n
Bafana Bafana Group A fixtures at the 2026 World Cup<\/p>\n
June 11: vs Mexico 10pm<\/p>\n
June 19: vs Cech Republic 7pm<\/p>\n
June 25: vs South Korea 4am<\/p>\n
South Africa\u2019s squad at the 2026 World Cup<\/p>\n
Goalkeepers<\/p>\n
Ronwen Williams, Ricardo Goss, Sipho Chaine<\/p>\n
Defenders<\/p>\n
Khuliso Mudau, Olwethu Makhanya, Bradley Cross, Aubrey Modiba, Thabang Matuludi, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Khulumani Ndamane, Ime Okon, Samukele Kabini, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Kamogelo Sebelebele<\/p>\n
Midfielders<\/p>\n
Teboho Mokoena, Jayden Adams, Thalente Mbatha, Sphephelo Sithole<\/p>\n
Forwards<\/p>\n
Oswin Appollis, Tshepang Moremi, Evidence Makgopa, Lyle Foster, Iqraam Rayners, Relebohile Mofokeng, Themba Zwane, Thapelo Maseko<\/p>\n
\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Overview: Broos has changed the Bafana Bafana game, rejuvenated the side and handed debuts to promising young players…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[52],"tags":[145,123254,549,137511,1496,16770,137512,131],"class_list":["post-272033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-south-africa","tag-bafana-bafana","tag-benni-mccarthy","tag-hugo-broos","tag-ricardo-goss","tag-ronwen-williams","tag-shaun-bartlett","tag-sipho-chaine","tag-south-africa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/116707503997074418","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}