THE national team’s strikers were on fire in different leagues and should be stopped by Bafana Bafana’s stoppers in the World Cup, which is less than 20 days away from starting in Mexico, Canada and the United States of America (USA).
A few days left for the start of this tournament season should be accompanied by an increase in excitement among the fans.
Like every year, this time too it is expected that players from different countries will grace this tournament which starts with the Group A match between Mexico and Bafana Bafana on June 11 at the Azteca Stadium, Mexico City.
In Group A, four countries with different ways of playing football have been tied to make this group of Bafana, Mexico, South Korea and the Czech Republic and it will be difficult to predict its results.
The four countries have tied different weapons in terms of players, although it is hard to ignore that most of the Mamelodi Sundowns who will travel with Bafana know many of the people who make up Korea as they are on the books of UD Ulsan who played with them in the Fifa Club World Cup last year in the USA.
What stands out about this group are the strikers’ goals that must be blocked by Bafana’s stoppers.
Jullian Quinones, 29, (Mexico)
Quinones who was born in Colombia but chose to represent Mexico in world football, topped all the goal scorers in the Saudi Pro League where he plays for Al-Qadsiah coached by the famous Branden Rodgers in England’s Liverpool FC.
In this season that just ended, Quinones hit the net 33 times in 31 games. He has beaten some of the most respected players in the world including Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Ivan Toney and Joao Felix to name a few.
Although Bafana’s stoppers should cut towards this striker, it will not help them to ignore Raul Jiminez, who plays for Fulham in England, who scored nine goals in the 2025/2026 season.
Hyeon-gyu Oh, 25 (South Korea)
This star, who plays for Besiktas in the Turkish Supa Lig, has six goals for the national team in 26 games. What we have done this season shows that we are among the ones to watch in Group A.
In his last eight games for Besiktas, this striker, known as Oh, has scored four goals and created two more.
He is not the only one who carries hopes in Korea since the captain, Son Heung-min, who is famous for Tottenham Hotspur in England but now plays for Los Angeles FC in the Major Soccer League (MLS), is one of the references.
Pavel Sulc, 25 (Czech Republic)
This player who grew up playing in the midfield, has become one of the feared strikers in Ligue 1 of France where he plays for Olympique Lyon.
This season, Sulc hit the net 11 times, which will allow him to reach the World Cup driving high due to his form.
It will help Sulc that the Czech squad also includes strikers like Patrik Schick who plays for Beyer Leverkusen in Germany.
Tebogo Mokoena, 29 (Bafana Bafana)
Although Bafana must hold their own when they face other countries, there are players who are expected to carry it, including Mokoena who plays in the center of the field for Mamelodi Sundowns.
What is clear about Mokoena is that any leading team wins when he is in the game.
Mokoena has made this clear many times to Mamelodi Sundowns as he did on Sunday night when they won the Caf Champions League in Morocco. For Bafana, he showed maturity in the Last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) which was held in Ivory Coast, burdening Morocco who were returning from the World Cup in Qatar.