When he walked off the field with a hamstring injury in the first leg of the Champions League final against AS FAR in Pretoria, Bafana Bafana midfielder Aubrey Modiba feared the worst. It was a few weeks before Bafana coach Hugo Broos was set to announce the final 2026 Fifa World Cup squad, and it crossed his mind that his chances of going to the tournament may be over. He missed the second leg against AS FAR in Rabat, where the Brazilians won their second Champions League trophy, and Bafana’s preparation match against minnows Nicaragua. Thanks to the good work by the medical team at Chloorkop and at the Bafana camp, Modiba responded well to rehabilitation, and he has played all three World Cup matches against Mexico, Czechia and South Korea. He is part of the settled Bafana defence that includes Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Ime Okon and Khuliso Mudau and will again be tested in the last 32 match against Canada in Los Angeles on Sunday. “It did cross my mind [that I may not play at the World Cup],” he said after helping Bafana to qualify for a historic World Cup knockout stage with a win over South Korea in Monterrey. “The medical team at Mamelodi Sundowns helped me to recover for the first World Cup game, and I am thankful that the coach believed in me. We had some tough conversations before he [selected] the team. “I assured him that I will be ready for the first game. I was not 100% at the beginning of the tournament, but I am becoming better as the tournament progresses. “He [Broos] wanted to see where I was in terms of confidence and progress [from] injury, and I assured him I would be ready for the first game against Mexico. I am thankful to the coach and the medical team for helping me.” Bafana have been criticised for lack of consistency, and Modiba, who is part of the leadership group at the senior national team, said they hold each other accountable when they don’t meet the standards. “When we fight together, we can match any team in the world, and this is because we have quality and we believe in one another. We just need to go the extra 10%. We hold each other accountable when we don’t perform.” Modiba said Bafana are going to put up a brave fight in the next match against Canada. “They have been doing well, and you can’t take any team for granted at this level, but we are going to watch their games. There are a lot of upsets here, and we are going to prepare accordingly for that game. “Hopefully we can win and progress to the next round. Anyway, it’s like they are playing at home, but we are looking forward to that game. They are above us in the rankings, but we are going to put up a fight as we always do. “Hopefully we can match them on the day; anything can happen.” In the win over South Korea, Modiba clocked a significant personal milestone of 50 caps, and he was not even aware of it. “To be honest, I didn’t even know it was my 50th cap. I am happy to be able to win a match on this occasion of a personal milestone and excited to go to the next round.” Modiba said they were not affected by critics at the beginning of the tournament. “It was tough, but we never gave up, and we never let external things affect us. We know people are always going to talk and criticise, and some of them do it to get views and numbers. “We know what we can do because we have been together for so many years. This is history; we are not going to stop here, and we are going to keep on pushing. “When our backs are against the wall, that’s where we come out on top because we believe in each other; we are a strong and united group. You can see with the way we sing and we do everything together. “We fight for one another, and we want to make history together, and we help the younger ones who are coming through.”TimesLIVE