South African veteran coach Pitso Mosimane has reacted to Bafana Bafana’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stages.
Bafana triumphed 1-0 over South Korea in their final group stage match, collecting maximum points to finish second in the group. South Africa had started slowly, suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of co-hosts Mexico in their opening match.
However, they bounced back with a 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic before picking up the crucial win against South Korea.
Mosimane praised the team’s resilience, stating that this is exactly how a side should respond after a tough start.
He also credited Hugo Broos for professionally handling the heavy criticism and guiding his players to a successful turnaround.
“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, right? And also we didn’t start well,” said Mosimane on Changing The Game with Pitso Mosimane.
“Critics were there because of how they started and they know that they should have gotten critics.
“And if you play like that, they upped their game, and responded well. [After the Mexico defeat], they drew the following match against Czechia which was a very difficult match by the way.
“I was not even sure myself if we would be able to deal with the aerial strength of Czechia and we managed to get something. We got a draw.
“So, from a loss, to a draw and look how we finish now. I think everybody is happy with the tactics, Hugo Broos has improved it.
“He showed that he’s human and he understands that we didn’t play well in the first match. He responded professionally by fixing it.”