South Africa's defender #14 Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Canada's forward #10 Jonathan David fight for the ball during the 2026 World Cup round of 32 football match between South Africa and Canada at the Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood on June 28, 2026. Picture: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
The future of South African football looks brighter than it has in years after Bafana Bafana’s historic FIFA World Cup run, and there is every chance a handful of players have caught the attention of clubs across Europe.
Bafana were cruelly knocked out as Canada scored the winner in a 1-0 Round of 32 victory deep into referee’s added time on Sunday, just as South Africans were beginning to prepare themselves for extra time and perhaps even penalties.
Still, Bafana were never expected to get this far.
Personally, I thought they might sneak through to the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed finishers in the expanded 48-team World Cup. Instead, they exceeded expectations by finishing second in their group to qualify automatically.
