South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has praised his players for silencing critics after Bafana Bafana reached the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in the nation’s history with a 1-0 victory over South Korea on Wednesday.
The result secured South Africa second place in Group A behind co-hosts Mexico, who closed the group phase with a perfect nine points from three matches. It is the first time South Africa has progressed beyond the group stage in four World Cup appearances, with their last outing coming as hosts in 2010.
Thapelo Maseko struck in the second half to settle what was effectively a playoff for qualification at Estadio BBVA. South Africa had opened their campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Mexico and were largely dismissed by pundits. A hard-fought draw with the Czech Republic kept their hopes alive before Wednesday’s winner-takes-all clash.
“I’m very proud of the performance of my team and I think we gave an answer to all those big mouths of the last weeks that thought we had to change something,” Broos told reporters after the match.
“We just did what we did. We just did what I wanted to do and this is the result.”
The 74-year-old Belgian, who took charge in 2021, said the achievement carried extra weight given his career stage.
“I said it already in the past that probably it will be one of the last games of my career and when you can end a career like I had in this way, I think every coach dreams of it,” he said.
Broos credited the squad’s unity for the turnaround after the opening loss. He described his relationship with the players as unique and built on trust.
“Between me as a coach and them as players, maybe it’s something special. I’m the coach, but I’m not just a coach,” he said, adding, “I think I’m a friend of theirs. The relationship between the players and me is very good.”
When South Africa opened the World Cup against co-host Mexico in Mexico City, they found little solidarity from fellow Africans, many of whom loudly rooted for Mexico at the stadium and through hundreds of posts online.
After South Africa’s 2–0 defeat to Mexico in their opening match, social media platforms were filled with reactions from Africans celebrating the result, amid anger over xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment.
South Africa has experienced repeated outbreaks of anti-immigrant attacks, particularly targeting migrants from other African countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Mozambique, Somalia and Ethiopia.
Recently, months-long violent protests against foreign nationals accused of taking jobs from locals have specifically targeted migrants from other African nations, leaving at least two dead and hundreds fleeing for their lives.
Tensions soared after a citizen-led anti-immigration group opposed to irregular migration recently ordered all undocumented foreign nationals to leave by June 30.
According to a Stats SA report, immigrants made up 5.1% of South Africa's population in 2022-23, with over 3 million migrants in a population of just over 60 million living in the country altogether, and 63.6% of them coming from nearby countries.
The data suggests the number of immigrants in the country has increased around fourfold altogether, and around 150% proportionally to South Africa's total population.
South Africa's unemployment rate stands at 32.7%, and the country has the highest Gini coefficient in the world, meaning that it is ranked as the world's most unequal nation according to data tracking the cumulative share of income, or wealth against the cumulative share of the population.
Many migrants moved to South Africa after white-minority rule ended in 1994, seeking better opportunities. But with unemployment high, anti-migrant sentiment has grown. Major cities have seen protest marches, and foreign nationals have reported xenophobic attacks.
South Africa is one of 10 African teams in this year’s expanded World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The tournament is usually a moment of continental unity, with fans rallying behind any African side. Mexico's opener showed how quickly that solidarity can fracture when politics and migration spill onto the pitch. For some, football remains separate. For others, the game is now another arena to voice frustration.
South Africa will now face co-hosts Canada in Los Angeles on Sunday with a place in the last 16 at stake.
Broos backed his team to rise to the occasion again saying, “I just know that the players will be ready and will try to achieve the third round. It would be even more historic. But those players are chasing those things. They want to prove to everyone that they are a good team. We will see next Sunday if we can go further.”
The win caps a remarkable turnaround for Bafana Bafana, who entered the tournament ranked as outsiders in a group featuring two co-hosts.
