Former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Roger De Sa has warned that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be taxing, emphasising that only a united team with a strong mindset will be able to withstand what lies ahead. De Sá pointed to the strength of the group, noting that facing Mexico, South Korea, and a likely European play-off winner such as Denmark will make the World Cup a demanding assignment for Bafana.
Furthermore, now working as Oman’s national team assistant coach, De Sá is no stranger to the World Cup showpiece. He previously served as Bafana Bafana’s goalkeeper coach at the 2002 Korea-Japan tournament, was part of Portugal’s technical team in 2010, and later worked as Iran’s assistant coach at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
According to De Sá, travelling alone will test Hugo Broos‘ team. He also stressed that every opponent will bring a unique challenge, from Mexico’s passionate support to South Korea’s technical quality and history of upsets.
DE SÁ NOTES MEXICAN CROWD FACTOR
The 61-year-old believes mental strength will be just as important as football. He emphasised the importance of managing players who might not get game time to maintain squad unity and morale.
“The World Cup is going to be a challenge this one,” De Sa told FARPost. “It is going to be far, far away. The games will be all over the place.
“To play Mexico in the USA or in Mexico is truly like playing away. I had that experience with Qatar. We played Mexico in the 2023 Gold Cup. There were 60-70,000 Mexicans in the stadium in the USA. I think that will be a challenge.
“Playing the opening game, I hope we don’t expect the same as when we played them at home in 2010. It is a different team. It is a totally different environment. And believe you me, they can play.
“South Korea is one of the strongest teams in the region. North Korea is the weaker one. South Korea usually cause upsets. They caused an upset over Portugal in the last World Cup. They pushed teams a long way. A technical, strong and physical team. It is going to be a tough one,” he added.
NO EASY GAMES FOR BAFANA BAFANA AT THE 2026 WORLD CUP
De SA continued: “Let’s be honest, when you’re a team like South Africa going to the World Cup. There are no easy games. Every game will be a challenge; everybody is up for it. I worked on two World Cups; there are no bad players. They are all the superstars from every country.
“The European play-off winner is most likely to be Denmark. I think Denmark will be a totally different challenge. Very physical, big team in stature, a lot more robot-like sort of football from the Danes, if they qualify, of course.
“The other factor is what I call your ‘tourists,’ where you have four or five players that don’t play at all. They can have a massive impact on your squad in terms of morale.
“The players who are used to playing at their clubs but are left out. The players will sit out three to four games without catching a minute. I sometimes say your tourists are just as important as the players. They can cause havoc in your camp. I think we have an experienced coach to manage things like that. Bafana have a good squad with guys who have done really well. I hope that can continue.
“But ya, looking forward to it. I think it is going to be a very challenging time for us now. The next six months will be very, very interesting for Bafana Bafana.
“I just hope we can get going and get very positive results and performances. Also, we have definitely done all the right things over the last couple of years. I just hope we can continue and try to emulate a little bit of the rugby guys, which will be a difficult act to follow,” De Sa concluded.
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