South Africa will play in their first World Cup since the 2010 tournament, which it hosted. Bafana Bafana will play in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup against co-hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, a repeat of the opening match of the 2010 edition, the first that was held in Africa.
World Cup History
South Africa has played in three World Cups, with the 2026 edition being its first in 16 years.
Their first came in 1998. In qualifying, Bafana Bafana beat Malawi in the first round 4-0 on aggregate. They were then placed into Group 3 alongside Congo, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (who were remanded from Zaire halfway through qualifying).
After topping the group with 13 points, they qualified for the tournament, in which they were placed into Group C alongside hosts France, who topped the group, Denmark and Saudi Arabia.
Despite a 1-1 draw against Denmark and a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia, they exited the tournament in finishing 3rd, two points behind Denmark.
The 2002 World Cup saw their best performances in the tournament to date, though once again they were unable to make it past the group stage, with Paraguay snatching second place on goals scored.
In their most recent appearance, where they were hosts, Siphiwe Tshabalala gave them a world-renowned moment, scoring first in a 1-1 draw against Mexico in Soccer City, Johannesburg.
That being said, South Africa once again earned four points but were eliminated from the group stage, with a 2-1 defeat to France in their final group stage match in Bloemfontein not being enough to snatch a spot in the knockout rounds.
This meant that South Africa became the first World Cup host team to fail to advance past the group stage after placing behind Mexico on goal difference.
Qualification and Recent Form
South Africa, from the back of their qualification campaign, had high hopes going into the 2025 edition of the African Cup of Nations, but were unfortunate not to advance any further than the round of 16.
A 79th-minute strike from Lyle Foster would give South Africa all three points against Angola, but a defeat against Egypt on Boxing Day in Agadir would mean they would have to avoid defeat, bettering or equalling the result of Angola’s match against group leaders Egypt, but with the Sable Antelope playing out a goalless draw against the 2010 Champions (who last won the competition in Angola), they would not have to worry.
But, much like their first opponents, Mexico, their form recently has not been as good as they would have hoped for with their first World Cup in sixteen years on the horizon.
In their last four matches, Bafana Bafana have only won once, beating Mario Marinica’s Zimbabwe in Marrakesh in their final group stage match.
The most southern-based side geographically in the continent has only had two friendlies since the tournament, with both coming against an up-and-coming Panama side, yet with a 1-1 draw followed by a 2-1 defeat just four days later is not quite what Broos’ side would have been looking for.
Manager – Hugo Broos
Hugo Broos has been the manager of the South African national team since 2021. This is his second time managing a national team, with Broos managing Cameroon from February 2016 to December 2017, where he won the Africa Cup of Nations.
His managerial career started in his home country of Belgium with R.W.D. Molenbeek, before managing Belgium’s second most successful side, Club Brugge for seven seasons, winning the title twice in 1992 and 1996, and winning the Belgian Cup three times.
He then managed 197 matches at Excelsior Mouscron between July 1997 and June 2002 before leaving to go to Anderlecht, where he led Belgium’s most successful side to the title in the 2003–04 season, though he was sacked for the first time in his career the following season.
After managing two clubs in Algeria, Broos was named manager of the Cameroon national team in a ‘shock appointment’, with his name not being on the Fecafoot’s shortlist.
Albeit the appointment paid off, with his side winning the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, coming back from behind to beat Egypt 2-1 in Gabon, despite qualifying from the group stage in second and only winning once.
Yet, Broos was dismissed just ten months into the job, with Hugo, with leaked documents showing that members of Fecafoot (the Cameroon Football Federation) wanted him out, with the Belgian saying that “this is something that is not serious, it’s a soap opera … what happens now in Cameroon.”
Key Player – Lyle Foster
Lyle Foster has quickly grown into a key attacking player for both his club, Premier League side Burnley, and the South African national team.
The striker, who was first called up to his national team in 2018, has earned 28 caps, scoring on ten occasions, contributing to their success in World Cup and AFCON qualification.
This was most evident in the most recent AFCON, where Foster earned two man of the match performances after scoring a decisive goal each in both their group stage wins against Angola and Zimbabwe, in which the latter he also registered an assist.
As for his club career, his performances and returns at Burnley have been similar in both the Premier League and Championship, with Foster just two goals off his best season in a Clarets shirt, which came in the 2023/24 season, when Burnley failed to survive the drop on the first time of asking.
Foster’s career started in South Africa, with regional giants Orlando Pirates before the promising South Africa youth international was brought by Monaco, therefore becoming the youngest Pirates player to move to a Top Five European league.
Yet after a season with their academy side, he was sent on loan to Monaco’s feeder club Cercle Brugge in the Belgian Pro League, where he played 18 times for the ‘Green and Black’.
In August of 2020, Foster joined Vitória de Guimarães for approximately £1.08 million, before being loaned out to Westerlo in Belgium on a loan-to-buy which was activated at the end of the season after scoring five goals and gaining four assists, helping them gain promotion to the top flight.
The season after saw an even better return with eight goals and three assists in the Belgian Pro League, earning him a transfer to Burnley for an amount just shy of £10 million, where his speed makes him a major threat on the counterattack.
Matches
South Africa, who were drawn from Pot Three, are in Group A alongside Mexico, South Korea and European play-off winners Czechia. Two of their three matches will take place in Mexico, with the other taking place at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Their opening match will be against the same opponent, same manager on the same date, just sixteen years later.
Mexico vs South Africa – Mexico City – Thursday 11th June (20:00)
Czechia vs South Africa – Atlanta – Thursday 18th June (17:00)
South Africa vs South Korea – Monterrey – Thursday 25th June (02:00)
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