Read 3 minutes29 Jun 2026 03:29 PM IST
History is written by the winners and it will be recorded that South Africa bowed out in the FIFA World Cup round of 32 after a last-gasp goal against Canada.
But for a team that was derided as perhaps the worst in the competition after a game and a half, reaching the knockout stages for the first time in its history was a credible achievement in itself. Beating a pedigree team like South Africa to progress was due to the team punching above its weight and making optimal use of its limited resources, but heartbreak at injury time could not be avoided.
After a 0-2 defeat to Mexico – in which they had two players sent off – and an early goal concession against Czechia, one would have feared for them, but they not only prevented any more Czech goals, but grabbed a late equalizer to stay alive in the tournament.
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South Africa coach Hugo Bruce is proud of his charges, but admits they lack something in front of goal. Just two goals in four games – one of them from the penalty spot – and a lack of real threat up front were the main reasons for their exit.
“I’m not complaining about the mentality but I think we can look back on this tournament happily because we got to the second round. I don’t think anyone expected that before the tournament,” Bruce said after the 0-1 loss in Los Angeles.
“It hurts now because we wanted to win today. It’s disappointing, it’s very quiet in the dressing room at the moment. But on the other hand, if we’re honest, we did very well in the World Cup for the first time in 16 years. We reached the second round. For me, as a coach, it was great that we did it well again.”
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The 74-year-old Belgian, who was part of the national team that finished fourth at the 1986 World Cup, knows his wards have come second. When a man of his experience with an excellent record as a manager in both club and international football – he guided Cameroon to the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2017 and was South Africa’s manager from 2021, leading them to third place at the continental competition in 2023 – has to be listened to.
“It was a tough game but I already knew that [it would be so] Because I analyzed the competitor. They have two important ones [traits] in power and speed. We were hoping we would have an answer to that but that’s not always the case,” Bruce told FIFA.
“We saw situations in the game that we couldn’t follow and duels, man vs. man, we lost sometimes or most of the time. We have to work on power and pace in South Africa,” he concluded.