It is 14 years since the last time Mzansi featured in the global competition but the Belgian believes there is potential to go all the way
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has challenged the players to steal the limelight by qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup which might go a long way to making a positive impact on their careers.
The experienced tactician defied the odds by helping Mzansi reach the semi-final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, and eventually won bronze after beating the Democratic Republic of Congo in the third-place play-offs.
After the biennial competition, some players were linked to a move abroad; Teboho Mokoena was rumoured to be on Premier League side AFC Bournemouth's rada while Evidence Makgopa was also linked to unnamed teams overseas.
Khuliso Mudau was another player who had reported interest from Europe as well after a solid display in Ivory Coast.
What will the World Cup qualification do? – Broos predicts massive interest from Europe
The 72-year-old former Cameroon coach is confident players in Mzansi will have a better future if they manage to make it for the prestigious global competition in 2026.
“Being qualified for big tournaments like Afcon and the World Cup is very important for, you saw what happened after our third place [finish] at Afcon? Suddenly everyone was ‘wow! South Africa', Broos said in a presser.
“It’s important for South African football and for the players. Suddenly there’s interest, so it’s very important again now after the performances in Afconthat we qualify for the World Cup. If we don’t then that puts us back again where we started, six, seven months ago. That is why it’s important [to qualify] and we believe in it and know that we’re able to do it, because we have a quality team.
“If we can achieve the level of AFCON, we will qualify for the World Cup.”
Where are Bafana Bafana placed in Group C?
South Africa started their campaign to qualify for the 2026 World Cup on a high after a 2-1 win against Benin.
However, they slipped in their second game when Amavubi of Rwanda handed them a 2-0 defeat in East Africa.
Bafana are just lucky that their main rivals in the group, Nigeria, also dropped points in their first two matches. Despite their quality, the Super Eagles could just manage an identical 1-1 draw against Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively.
The Broos-team has to get a positive result in Uyo and beat Zimbabwe on Tuesday to show how serious they are in playing the World Cup for the first time since 2010.
