South Africa coach Hugo Broos says his team has silenced the “big mouths” after Bafana Bafana reached the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup for the first time in the country’s history with a 1-0 victory over South Korea on Wednesday.
The African side, playing in the tournament for the fourth time, finished second in Group A behind co-hosts Mexico, who recorded a perfect run of three wins from three matches.
South Africa, who last appeared at the World Cup when they hosted the tournament in 2010, were widely written off after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Mexico in their opening match.
However, they recovered with a draw against the Czech Republic before sealing qualification in what turned out to be a decisive contest for second place in Monterrey, thanks to a second-half goal from Thapelo Maseko.
“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 that we had to change something,” Broos said.
“We just did what we did. We just did what I wanted to do and this is the result.”
The 74-year-old manager, who has been in charge since 2021, described reaching the second round as an emotional achievement for South Africa.
“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 everybody or every coach dreams of it.”
Broos said he always believed in his players despite strong criticism.
“Between me as a coach and them as players is yes, maybe something unique — I’m the coach, but I’m not a coach,” he said.
“I think I’m a friend of theirs. So the relationship between the players and me, this is very good.”
South Africa will face Canada in Los Angeles on Sunday, with a place in the round of 16 on the line.
“I just know that the players will be ready again and try to achieve the third round,” Broos said.
“It should be even more historic. But those players are chasing those things. Those players want to prove to everyone and to show that they are a good team. So we will see next Sunday if we can go further.”