THE COACH of Bafana Bafana, Hugo Broos, needs to come up with answers following the local team’s 2-0 loss to Mexico in the opening game of the World Cup at the Mexico City Stadium last night.
In this game, Broos changed the way he organized the team, starting Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Ime Okon and Nkosinathi Sibisi in the middle of the back wall. On the sides, he tied up Khuliso Mudau and Aubrey Modiba, in the middle he strengthened with Sphephelo Sithole, Teboho Mokoena and Jayden Adams, and in front he played with Iqraam Rayners and Lyle Foster.
Mexico dominated the match but got the goal in the ninth minute due to a mistake made by Sithole just outside the box, which Julián Quinones put into the net. What stood out the most was the fact that all the chances that Mexico got in this game came because of the mistakes made by the country’s team at the back, which continued at the beginning of the second half.
These mistakes led to Sithole being sent off with a red card in the 50th minute for trying to drain the water from the house. Bafana’s hopes of a comeback in this match were ended by a goal put into the net by the dangerous Mexican striker, Raul Jimenez, who was unmarked in the 67th minute. It was worse in the 84th minute when Themba Zwane, who had come on in the second half, was sent off after fouling Brian Gutierrez. Mexico also ended the game incomplete following the dismissal of Cesar Montes after a poor performance by Mudau. Although Bafana left the field with the points, there is still hope that they can advance if they improve their level in the remaining two group games.
The expansion of the number of teams playing in the World Cup, from 32 to 48, has changed the way teams view the group stage.
In the past, there was a lot of pressure to win the first or second game in order to enter the third game, you have more chance to be counted with two teams that will go forward in that group.
This year things have changed since the two teams that will finish at the top of each of these 12 groups will advance to the Last 32, along with the eight that will finish in third place with more points than the others.
This means that there is no team that can quickly get going by winning the first game, or lose hope because of dropping points in the opening game.
South Africa is one of the 15 countries that are part of this year’s World Cup that have never made it past the knockout stages of this tournament.
Other teams looking to change this history are Canada, which is one of the host countries for this year’s tournament, Tunisia, Egypt, New Zealand and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
There are three other countries that are starting to play in the World Cup this year, Cape Verde, Jordan, Uzbekistan and Curaçao, who may go through the group stage.
Although Bafana Bafana finished in third place with two points when they first played in the World Cup in France in 1998, what should give Hugo Broos’ team hope is that in 2002 they finished in third place with four points. He did the same at home in 2010, which he may advance if he repeats it this year or increases the number of points.
The local team will face Czechia at Atlanta Stadium, United States, on Thursday at 6 pm, and then face Korea Republic at Monterrey Stadium, Mexico, on June 25 at 3 am.