‘Bafana will not beat Mexico, it will be loss or draw’ – Junior Khanye

‘Bafana will not beat Mexico, it will be loss or draw’ - Junior Khanye — Mzansi's popular football analyst Junior Khanye says Bafana Bafana will not win against Mexico. Photo by Gallo Images/Lefty Shivambu)

South Africa’s football social media hotshot, Junior Khanye, is once again scathing in his predictions ahead of the 2026 Fifa World Cup opening match between Bafana Bafana and Mexico at the Azteca Stadium on Thursday night.

He is convinced that South Africa (SA) will either draw or lose to the Mexicans, saying that a win is not on the cards for coach Hugo Broos’ players.

A former Kaizer Chiefs dribbling wizard, Khanye has launched himself as a valued social media analyst, and has recovered from his days of heavy drinking and partying. In the early 2000s, he was a rising star for Amakhosi and was touted as one of the best talents to have come out of Mzansi, but life in the fast lane resulted in him being discarded by clubs.

‘It’s going to be a very difficult game’

“It’s going to be a very difficult game, and I do not see Bafana Bafana winning,” Khanye told Sunday World. “Mexico is hosting, and they won their last two matches, they beat Serbia by five goals. We drew our last three games, and the coach will have to rely on the Mamelodi Sundowns players because they are used to this environment of travelling and playing away in such conditions.”

“When you check all our friendlies, we played at home in front of our supporters, and we never went away to play – the new players that the coach has brought into the team have not played away international matches, and they have not been tested. We have talented players, but Mexico will want to win it more. This is the World Cup stage and they are playing at home. SA will have to deal with the pressure of defending. We saw it when our 2010 Legends played against (Mexico Legends) on Sunday, it was full to capacity, and this is the kind of pressure our players will have to deal with today (Thursday),” he added.

‘I hope we did not have to start with Mexico’

Khanye mentioned that it would have been better not to start the group with Mexico, especially when they are the hosts.

“I hope we did not have to start the group with Mexico, but we can never run away. In the group, we could have at least started with Czechia or South Korea, but there is no game that is easy in the World Cup.

“I can tell you the truth, I do not see us winning the match. It’s going to be a loss or a draw for SA. I have seen Mexico play, they are quick, they run, and they are tactically disciplined. It’s going to be a different ball game. Our preparations were not the best, there were problems with visas and all our games were in SA – so we are either going to draw or lose, but we are not winning this match,” Khanye added.

Komphela says Bafana have what it takes to stun Mexico in World Cup opener

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Kgomotso Mokoena

Junior Khanye predicts South Africa will either draw or lose to Mexico in the 2026 World Cup opener, doubting a Bafana Bafana win.
Khanye highlights Mexico's home advantage and strong recent performances, including a 5-0 win over Serbia, against South Africa’s less tested squad.
He points out South Africa’s lack of away-game experience and the pressure of playing in a packed Azteca Stadium as major challenges.
Khanye criticizes South Africa’s preparation, including visa issues and all warm-up games being played at home.
He believes the group stage opener against Mexico is tough, preferring to have started against Czechia or South Korea, but accepts no World Cup match is easy.

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