MAHLATSE MPHAHLELE | Mixed bag of immense promise and searching questions for Bafana at World Cup

By the time you read this, Bafana Bafana players will soon be returning from the 2026 Fifa World Cup and the debate will still be raging among South African fans about their performances in Mexico and the US.

After every tournament, there is a public inquest and football lovers of different social standings exercise their right to opine on the results, performances and choices by the coach.

Their assessments are vastly different, with some complimentary and understanding of the team’s performances. Others are going to be harsh and unforgiving and asking for the immediate removal of the coach and the rest of his technical team.

It’s how these things go, and players and coaches know you need a thick skin in this high-pressure environment.

From a personal perspective, Bafana’s campaign was a mixed bag. It was what Mexicans call in slang, ‘más o menos’ (more or less).

There were good elements that give genuine hope for the future and there were those that left me with questions and no immediate answers.

On the good stuff, it was commendable of coach Hugo Broos to show confidence in younger players like Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Ime Okon, Thapelo Maseko and Relebohile Mofokeng.

I still felt Mofokeng should have got more minutes, but he showed what he is capable of at this level, especially against Czechia, where he came on as a substitute and helped the team to a valuable 1-1 draw.

There were other younger players like Olwethu Makhanya and Bradley Cross, who were exposed to this level though did not play, and the experience gained will benefit the team going forward.

There were varying degrees of performances from senior players including Ronwen Williams, Aubrey Modiba, Khuliso Mudau, Teboho Mokoena, Thalente Mbatha, Sphephelo Sithole, Jayden Adams and Oswin Appollis.

Most of these players are going to be vital when Bafana begin the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers in September, a tournament South Africa must try to win.

Most of them will go into the qualifiers and turn out at the tournament, to be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, with enough Afcon experience and also having played at the World Cup.

Another important box that was ticked by this group was the historic qualification to the knockout stages. They were actually a few minutes away from taking the last 32 match against Canada to extra time where anything could have happened.

Then there is the part where things didn’t go according to plan and unanswered questions remain, which is a cause for concern.

In one of his press conferences, Broos spoke about the differences in quality between Bafana players and the opposition and there is an element of truth in that.

Anything is possible in football, but Broos pointed out that most of our players are not exposed to the high level of competition that the opposition are.

I watched the matches between Brazil and Japan and Holland against Morocco and they were played at high intensity, which we would have had to rise to had we progressed.

Those teams are able to perform at those high levels because they have exceptional individual players based at big clubs around the world and we don’t have that luxury.

Another problem is we don’t have a prolific striker.

Most successful teams at tournaments get goals from their strikers and none of our front men — Lyle Foster, Iqraam Rayners and Evidence Makgopa — scored in Mexico and the US.

We only scored one goal in open play from Maseko in the 1-0 win over South Korea, the game that served up a genuinely impressive and promising performance from Bafana.

Another issue that is going to have to be managed well going forward is the coaching situation, because Broos seems to be showing an appetite to continue, while there are strong rumours about Pitso Mosimane submitting his CV to replace the Belgian.

The other one was from the penalty spot from Mokoena to equalise in the draw against Czechia that kept South Africa in the tournament.

There were questions about selection, especially in the disappointing loss to Mexico where coach Broos went with an unusual, defensive formation and the move backfired spectacularly.

Another issue that is going to have to be managed well going forward is the coaching situation, because Broos seems to be showing an appetite to continue, while there are strong rumours about Pitso Mosimane submitting his CV to replace the Belgian.

There is a short turnaround between now and the Afcon qualifiers in September and the question is: is having a new coach a good idea?

There are those who say Bafana need fresh ideas and Broos must be like a good dancer and know when to leave the stage.

There are others saying continuity could be the best option with Broos taking the team to Afcon, and this option is seemingly backed by most of the players.

Safa must decide if Broos continues or they go with Mosimane, because there is no time before the qualifiers.

As we watch the rest of the tournament on TV, there is a lot of reflection to be done by everyone who was involved in the team.

In my humble view, there were positives and negatives.