It all doesn't exactly bode well for the World Cup and the opening match against Mexico.
Bafana head coach Hugo Broos’ excuses for only managing a goalless draw with Nicaragua were a little weak. Picture: Backpagepix
Bafana Bafana’s post-season preparation for the 2026 Fifa World Cup finals is underway and it has not exactly got off to an auspicious start.
First came a rather insipid goalless draw with Nicaragua in a friendly international on Friday at the Orlando Amstel Arena.
Goal-shy Bafana
Not too much should ever be read into friendlies, but it can hardly be a psychological boost to fail to break down a Concacaf minnow ranked 131st in the world.
Lyle Foster hit the inside of the post with a penalty but Bafana were unable to create enough from open play to merit the win.
Bafana head coach Hugo Broos blamed Nicaragua for their negative tactics and Juan Cruz’ side were certainly content to sit back and defend.
But Nicaragua are not exactly known as defensive masterminds. A look back through their results tells you that they had last kept a clean sheet in October 2024, in a 1-0 win over those other giants of Concacaf football French Guiana.
It all doesn’t exactly bode well for the World Cup and the opening match against Mexico.
And you know what else doesn’t bode well? Not being able to organise visas in time for the team to depart for their training camp in Mexico.
How does this visa mess even happen?
It is actually a miracle that Bafana Bafana have qualified for the World Cup, given how badly the South African Football Association appears to be run. The news broke late on Saturday night, via SABC News, that the team would not be flying, as planned, on Sunday morning to their training camp at altitude in Pachuca.
Some players did not have their visas yet. This is not a hastily arranged trip. It is a World Cup finals that Bafana have known they are playing in ever since that 3-0 qualifying win over Rwanda in October.
And they have known where they will be playing since the World Cup draw was conducted in Washington on December 5. So how on earth does this happen?
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Bafana have kept same team manager who was involved in the Teboho Mokoena yellow card fiasco. What a shambles!
