World Cup 2026: South Africa played well despite defeat to Mexico – Hugo Broos

South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has praised the performance of his players despite their 2-0 defeat to Mexico in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Bafana Bafana locked horns with the co-host on Thursday, hoping for a positive result to begin their Group A campaign on a good note.

On the matchday, goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez propelled Mexico to a deserved win, condemning South Africa to a defeat in a game where two Bafana Bafana players were sent off.

Speaking in his post-match interview, Hugo Broos argued that he believes his side played well despite the defeat.

“I think we played a very good game, but we lost the ball where we shouldn’t. We have to work on the game when we have the ball,” he said.

Broos now wants his team to fight for enough points in their remaining Group A matches against Czechia and South Korea.

They return to action on Thursday, June 18, in a tricky clash against Czechia scheduled to kick off at 16:00GMT.