Jamaica coach Rudolph Speid has admitted he felt Bafana Bafana held back against his side in their international friendly on Saturday, and also warned Hugo Broos’ men of the Mexican pressing.
The sides played to a 1-1 draw, with goals coming from Lyle Foster for Bafana and Dwyane Atkins for the Reggae Boys in what was Bafana’s last warm-up friendly behind closed doors ahead of the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Broos’ men are in action on the opening day Thursday 11 June against co-hosts Mexico before facing South Korea and the Czech Republic in group A.
Broos has already expressed disappointment in how his charges performed, saying they are going to need to do much better than what he saw against Jamaica. Meanwhile Speid says he understands why Bafana didn’t go all out.
“As it relates to South Africa, I think they were playing within themselves, though, because probably, you know, players don’t want to get injured and everybody wants to impress the coach,” Speid was quoted on Safa.com.
“I didn’t think they were going for it as much as they could have.”
‘Bafana vs 123 000’
Speid also warned Bafana of the intense atmosphere at the Azteca Stadium during the opening match, saying he expects relentless pressing from the hosts during the early stages of the match.
“But playing against Mexico in the Azteca Stadium, there’s going to be 123,000 screaming Mexicans in there, I can tell you,” he continued.
“They’ll probably overload it, they’re going to be pressing high up the pitch, especially in the first half.
“They’re going to be pressing very high in the first half, relentless pressing, but of course, the pressure will ease as the game goes along.”