South Africa will go to the 2026 Fifa World Cup after they were held to a rather lukewarm 0-0 draw against lowly-placed Nicaragua at the Orlando Stadium on Friday night. It was Bafana’s final match on home soil before they depart for the World Cup. The Bafana squad will fly out of the country on Sunday.
SA will play against Jamaica in another friendly international before the Fifa World Cup kicks-off on 11 June, where coach Hugo Broos’ side will play against Mexico in the opening match at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, which is almost a repeat of the 2010 edition that took place at the FNB Stadium in 2010.
On Friday, on a cold night in Soweto, SA was not convincing as they fired blanks against a country that did not qualify for the World Cup. But to be fair, Broos gave his fringe a chance to impress and to raise their hands if they were the real deal. While some players were impressive, there are a lot of worries as to how the team will perform at the World Cup, the highest stage in world football.
Broos gave the likes of Kamogelo Sebelele, Olwethu Makhanya, goalkeeper Ricardo Goss, Thabang Matuludi, Samukele Kabini, Ime Okon and Sphephelo “Yaya” Sithole a chance to start and even though they did not disappoint, they did not quiet raise the bar.
Ageing Mamelodi Sundowns veteran and captain Themba Zwane also got a chance to start and he impressed with his neat touches, but was not effective to win the game. Zwane is seen as an inspiring and unifying force in the SA national team because of his role model status and because young players in the squad look up to because of his achievements.
However, the result was not that important, and Broos now has an idea on how his second grade team can perform when they are called into action.
- South Africa will go to the 2026 Fifa World Cup after they were held to a rather lukewarm 0-0 draw against lowly-placed Nicaragua at the Orlando Stadium on Friday night.
- It was Bafana’s final match on home soil before they depart for the World Cup.
- The Bafana squad will fly out of the country on Sunday.
- SA will play against Jamaica in another friendly international before the Fifa World Cup kicks-off on 11 June, where coach Hugo Broos’ side will play against Mexico in the opening match at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, which is almost a repeat of the 2010 edition that took place at the FNB Stadium in 2010.
- On Friday, on a cold night in Soweto, SA was not convincing as they fired blanks against a country that did not qualify for the World Cup.
