Bafana Bafana News Today: What SA should expect from Mexico, Broos on having Sundowns players in his squad & more…

Latest news about Bafana Bafana, in the last 24 hours, including what South Africa should expect from Mexico, Hugo Broos underlines importance of having Mamelodi Sundowns players, and more.

What Bafana Bafana should expect vs Mexico

Former Bafana Bafana midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi has highlighted what coach Hugo Broos and his team must expect when they face Mexico in the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening match.

Dikgacoi — the former Fulham and Crystal Palace midfielder — was part of the team that faced Mexico in the 2010 FIFA World Cup opener at FNB Stadium.

Former Bafana Bafana midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi has highlighted what coach Hugo Broos and his team must expect when they face Mexico in the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening match.#FARPost | By @madyautatpmhttps://t.co/WXBMQ5UlNZ

— FARPost (@FARPostZA) June 9, 2026

That historic 2010 clash ended in a 1-1 draw, with Dikgacoi famously turning provider for Siphiwe Tshabalala’s iconic opening goal at Soccer City. This time around, however, Mexico holds the home-ground advantage as tournament co-hosts, looking to edge Bafana Bafana at the Estadio Azteca on Thursday, 11 June.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure on them [Mexico]. As much as we had that pressure as hosts in 2010, they will want to settle the score. We played a 1-1 draw back then, but now it’s their home, and they’ll definitely want to settle the score,” Dikgacoi told FARPost.

“I think the same applies to Bafana. But a lot of pressure is on them [Mexico]. As we mentioned, their identity — I don’t think they have changed. I was part of the team in 2010, and I understand that approach. It’s still going to be high pressure.

“It’s going to be a game of high-intensity football. That’s what the guys should expect. Being under pressure to perform or win should make it easy for us to explore certain areas and get an overview,” added the ex-English Premier League star.

“It’s all about controlling the tempo. We should dictate our own tempo. It will frustrate them. If they play at a high tempo, we take it low. If they take it low, we take it higher. Just stay in control and frustrate them. If they get frustrated, there will be gaps and spaces to exploit.

“If you can get an early goal, you put them on the back foot. That puts them under more serious pressure. When you put a team on their back foot, it creates more opportunities and more problems for the opposition.”

Dikgacoi added: “So it’s all about maintaining and controlling the tempo of the game. The advantage they have is that they’re hosts with home support. But the disadvantage, as I said, is the pressure that comes with all that. All those things you can think of can work against you sometimes.”

Why Broos is happy to have Sundowns players

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has discussed the importance of having Mamelodi Sundowns players in the squad ahead of the 2026 FIFA World.

Broos selected eight players from the Chloorkop-based giants in his final squad for the global showpiece, though Thapelo Morena missed out after the national team’s medical staff ran out of time to get him fit.

“It’s very important to have players in the squad that are used to play on another level than PSL. This is a tournament on a higher level, you can’t even compare it with AFCON, this is more."

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has discussed the importance of having Mamelodi Sundowns… pic.twitter.com/VzGwwWEwKH

— iDiski Times (@iDiskiTimes) June 9, 2026

“It’s very important to have players in the squad that are used to play on another level than PSL. So, it’s very important to have those players and also because there’s most of them in the squad. So, they can also affect other players in the attitude, the way of training and this is very important,” Broos, said as quoted by Mahlatse Mphahlele.

“This is a tournament on a higher level, you can’t even compare it with AFCON, this is more. You play against teams who are, let’s say 48 best teams of the world – it’s not the truth but oldest teams are very good teams.

“So, sometimes you’re in a very difficult group because you have teams who are the same level and you need to do more than what you’ve been doing in the past.

“So, again it’s very important to have those [Sundowns] players, they can give experience to other players, to younger players. They know how it will be next Thursday playing against 80 000 people against you.

“I’m happy that we have that experience here and Foster, who plays in the Premier League even though they were relegated, but he has experience of playing high-level football.”