Cape Verde's goalkeeper Vozinha celebrates with his national flag at the end of their 2026 Fifa World Cup match against Spain.
A week has already flown by at this historic Fifa World Cup 2026.
Here at home, the fever-pitch excitement leading into Bafana Bafana’s opening clash against Mexico was rapidly punctured by a sobering 2-0 defeat. It felt like a balloon popping, leaving an eerie silence in its wake.
However, as the initial sting of disappointment fades, it has quickly been overshadowed by a genuinely exhilarating week of global football.
There has been no shortage of loud, persistent criticism regarding the World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams — the largest in the quadrennial tournament's history. The prevailing fear among traditionalists was that parachuting 16 lower-ranked nations into the mix would inevitably lead to unbalanced, lopsided group-stage snoozefests.
