South Africa head coach Hugo Broos believes Bafana Bafana have already made the 2026 FIFA World Cup a success, but insists his players have no intention of stopping after reaching the knockout stage for the first time in the nation’s history.
The Belgian made the remarks ahead of South Africa’s Round of 32 meeting with Canada in Los Angeles, where both teams will be chasing another landmark achievement.
Neither side has previously progressed beyond this stage of the competition.
South Africa arrived at the tournament with modest expectations following a difficult start, losing their opening Group A match to Mexico.
However, the team responded impressively by collecting four points from their remaining two fixtures to finish second in the group and book a place in the knockout rounds.
The achievement marks a significant milestone for South African football and continues the team’s steady rise under Broos, who has overseen the national side for the past five years.
Reflecting on that journey, Broos said the transformation had not come overnight and admitted his methods were initially questioned.
“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.
“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.”
That third-place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations proved to be a turning point, with South Africa carrying renewed confidence into the World Cup.
Their response to an opening defeat has reinforced the belief that the squad is capable of competing on the global stage.
Broos believes reaching the knockout rounds has already fulfilled one of the team’s primary objectives, but he stressed that qualifying for the last 32 should not be viewed as the end of their ambitions.
“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.
Defender Ime Okon echoed his coach’s determination while highlighting what the achievement means to supporters across South Africa.
“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 are among the African nations to have reached the Round of 32 at the expanded 2026 World Cup, underlining the continent’s growing influence on football’s biggest stage.
Victory over Canada would send Bafana Bafana into the last 16 for the first time and add another chapter to what has already become one of the country’s most memorable World Cup campaigns.
