The stage is set, and it is a moment that every kid and young aspiring footballer dreams of. Playing at a Fifa World Cup, especially in the opening match, where the whole world will be watching, will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this young generation of Bafana Bafana, who keep on rewriting the history books.
In a few hours, Bafana will play against co-hosts Mexico in the opening match of the 2026 Fifa World Cup, and the whole county, the entire continent, and the world will be watching. The match will be played at a seething Azteca Stadium, with a sea of sombreros and
90 000 Mexicans packed inside the venue like sardines.
High expectations
The country’s expectations will be put on the tiny shoulders of Oswin Appolis, Relebohile Mofokeng, Teboho Mokoena and Mbekezeli Mbokazi to lead the South Africans to victory. Mokoena was brave when he faced the media on Wednesday and explained that there was a lot at stake going in the match.
Bafana coach Hugo Broos was equally optimistic and confident ahead of the game: “For us it will be a very tough game. We need to be at our best level, and we also need a little bit of luck. But I can assure you that my team is ready and we will fight for every ball during the 90 minutes. After that, we will see what the result is,” said Broos.
“In a group like this, it is very important to win your first game. If you don’t win, you are already in a difficult position. We are ready, we are ready to fight for every ball against the group’s “strongest team”.
Broos stresses commitment, passion and dedication
“I spoke to the players and they’ve seen it before, and they’ve done it before. Today, we want to see commitment, passion and dedication. They must just focus. They will have 88,000 people in the stadium while we will have maybe 80 fans. But our fans are sufficient to match the noise that will come from the Mexicans. I’ve seen the Aztec Stadium when Mexico plays – you cannot talk to the person next to you.
“The noise is incredible. The excitement, the joy, the celebration of football is exceptional. So, we must be ready because our players will be in an environment they’ve never seen before. But we believe that they have sufficient experience to go through hostile environments and go into stadiums where they have no support and yet triumph. And today we want to see that focus, and I ask them just to be focused, do your best and remember that you are equal to anybody in the world. We can deliver a result today.”
‘Repeat of 2010’
“This game is a repetition of 2010, when Bafana Bafana played against Mexico in the opening match of the World Cup at home, at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. The night before, we were at a concert in Soweto and it was a wonderful celebration that generated the kind of spirit that went into the opening match. Here, without the concert, without the celebration prior to the match, the people of Mexico have embraced the match. The enthusiasm in the streets is just phenomenal. I think that after our team embraced a young boy from Mexico in Pachuca and the whole team signed his jersey, this single event generated a lot of goodwill amongst the Mexican people for Bafana Bafana.
“Today, we saw many South Africans arriving in Mexico and I think that this sets the stage for the opening match today. As far as our team is concerned, I think we are ready. We had three preparation matches ahead of the World Cup and I think one cannot read too much into the results of these matches because the coach would play one team and then play a different team, substitute the entire team in the second half, or make changes because really, it was for him to see what is the quality in front of him. Today we’ll see the coach putting on the field the kind of team that will bring glory and honour to South Africa.
- The stage is set, and it is a moment that every kid and young aspiring footballer dreams of.
- Playing at a Fifa World Cup, especially in the opening match, where the whole world will be watching, will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this young generation of Bafana Bafana, who keep on rewriting the history books.
- In a few hours, Bafana will play against co-hosts Mexico in the opening match of the 2026 Fifa World Cup, and the whole county, the entire continent, and the world will be watching.
- The match will be played at a seething Azteca Stadium, with a sea of sombreros and 90 000 Mexicans packed inside the venue like sardines.
- High expectations The country’s expectations will be put on the tiny shoulders of Oswin Appolis, Relebohile Mofokeng, Teboho Mokoena and Mbekezeli Mbokazi to lead the South Africans to victory.
