South Africa's forward #12 Thapelo Maseko celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group A football match between South Africa and South Korea
Thirty years can feel like a brief moment or an absolute eternity in football. For South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, the three decades since their finest hour have felt like the latter.
But when Hugo Broos’ men walk onto the pitch at the Los Angeles Stadium at 9pm this evening, they will be hoping to channel the precise spirit of 1996 to pen a brand-new chapter in South African football history.
It was back in 1996 that Bafana Bafana played arguably the most significant match in their history. On a momentous afternoon on home soil, they graced the occasion with a clinical 2-0 victory over Tunisia in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final, crowning themselves continental champions.
That "Class of 1996" endeared itself so deeply to the nation that their triumph is still widely celebrated today. They remain the only senior men's squad to lift a major trophy for South Africa.
