By Mahlatse Mphahlele in Monterrey Bafana Bafana will focus on regeneration and not training in the build-up to the Fifa World Cup last 32 clash against co-hosts Canada at the Los Angeles (LA) Stadium on Sunday. This was revealed by coach Hugo Broos after the 1-0 group stage win over South Korea which earned them a historic place in the knockout stage for the first time on Thursday. Over the coming few days, Bafana will have to negotiate around logistical issues because they travel from Monterrey on Thursday to Pachuca and to Los Angeles on Friday. Of particular concern for Broos is that the flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles is almost four hours and this means they will arrive in the US on Friday and be left with less than two days to prepare. “It is a bit of a pity that we have to travel to Pachuca on Thursday and then to LA after that. We wanted to go to LA on Thursday already but Fifa didn’t allow it,” he said. “That is a little annoying because we wanted to travel tomorrow [Thursday] to where we are playing the match but it’s not like that. We will have to recuperate very well in the next few days and training is not that important. Faced with this situation, Broos said they have to deal with what is in front of them because they want more and be ready for the match. “Once you are at this stage, you want more and whether we will achieve what we want is another thing. But we will start analysing our opponents on Thursday and take it from there. “Recovery is the most important thing and on Sunday you are going to see a team that believes in themselves and a team that is going to fight very hard for 90 minutes. “Lets hope we can have a good result and if not ... but what we have done already is good.” South Africa worked hard to overcome fancied South Korea as they overcame a shaky start to the tournament where they lost to Mexico in the opening match. WATCH | Bafana coach Hugo Broos on how they analyzed South Korea. Click on the link for more: https://t.co/uQzrq4xCAk pic.twitter.com/a8jAPCkjDv— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) June 25, 2026 “One of the big qualities this group have is that when things are not going well they are still a bunch of friends and this is very important. When things go bad, they work hard and the mentality of this group is amazing. “They are working for each other. I am a coach who likes discipline but it doesn’t mean I am there with my clock watch and checking if everyone is there exactly on time and punish them. “I give them freedom but it is within limits and that is the right combination between me and them. There were a lot of critics in the last weeks but there was a team on the pitch in this match.” Broos added that they have momentum and want to keep on going in the tournament. “It is really amazing what happened here with South Africa, we are not afraid of other teams. We will always fight like against South Korea and we will do it on Sunday also. “The only thing I know and I feel is that the group is growing and this is important in a tournament. When you start at the top, usually you go down but we were not on top and we are going up. “I don’t know what is going to happen on Sunday but what I know is that players will be ready to try to get to the next round which will be even more historical. These players want to prove to everyone that they are a good team. “We want to stay as long as possible in the tournament but that will also depend on the opponent on Sunday ... it is going to be a tough game.” — Mahlatse Mphahlele (@BraMahlatse) June 25, 2026