South Africa's Belgian head coach Hugo Broos talks with Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio at the end of the 2026 World Cup Group A opener between Mexico and Bafana Bafana at the Mexico City Stadium on Thursday night.
Bafana Bafana’s long-awaited return to the FIFA World Cup turned into a night of collapse, chaos and costly discipline issues as South Africa fell 2-0 to Mexico at a packed Estadio Azteca on Thursday.
In a match that will be remembered less for tactics and more for misfortune, everything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong for Hugo Broos’ side — from the starting structure to two damaging red cards that left Bafana unravelled on the biggest stage.
Major talking points
Broos’ decision to line up in a cautious 5-3-2 was the first major signal of intent.
