It was a nightmare start for Bafana Bafana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign on Thursday, as Hugo Broos’ side suffered a 2-0 defeat and saw two players sent off against Mexico in front of a packed Estadio Azteca.
The home side netted two goals in each half from Julián Quinones and Raúl Jiménez to take an early advantage in the global showpiece.
Bafana and Mexico kicked off the highly-anticipated World Cup in what was a repeat of the opening match of the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
Coming into the clash against Mexico, who are co-hosting the tournament alongside Canada and the USA, Bafana coach Hugo Broos had a cautious approach to the match, setting up with five defenders at the back, three holding midfielders, and two strikers.
With the 2023 AFCON bronze medalists deploying reinforced defense, they were on the back foot from the first whistle with the home side pressing high.
In the ninth minute, Bafana proved to be sloppy at the back after a buildup from the back between Ronwen Williams and Sphephelo Sithole ended in a nightmare after Julian Quinones punished the mistake at the back to give the Mexicans a 1-0 lead.
As the match progressed, it became increasingly evident that Bafana lacked a creative spark in attack, something they’d need to address to increase their chances of finding the back of the net in the second-half.
SPHEPHELO SITHOLE AND THEMBA ZWANE RECEIVED RED CARDS
Despite going into the half-time break trailing, the Belgian coach made no changes to his team, keeping the attacking players such as Themba Zwane, Oswin Appollis, Relebohile Mofokeng, Thapelo Maseko, and Tshepang Moremi on the bench early in second-half.
A few minutes into the second stanza, things went from bad to worse after Sithole received a red card for fouling a Mexican attacker who had only Ronwen Williams to beat.
In the final 30 minutes of the match, Broos brought in Themba Zwane and Thalente Mbatha in place of Lyle Foster and Jayden Adams, hoping to overturn the scoreline and fight for at least a draw. A few minutes after being on the pitch, Mshishi also got a red card, which is a big blow for Bafana going into the last two matches of the group stages
Bafana’s efforts were not enough after Mexico scored the second goal courtesy of Raúl Jiménez to claim a 2-0 victory, collecting three crucial points in front of their home fans.
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