South Africa head coach Hugo Broos declared his team had silenced critics after Bafana Bafana reached the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in history, defeating South Korea 1-0 on Wednesday.
Playing in their fourth World Cup, South Africa finished second in Group A behind co‑hosts Mexico, who won all three of their matches.
The victory in Monterrey came courtesy of Thapelo Maseko’s decisive second‑half strike, securing progression after a draw with the Czech Republic and an opening loss to Mexico.
“I’m very proud of the performance of my team and I think we gave an answer to all those big mouths of the last weeks that thought we had to change something,” said Broos defiantly.
“We just did what I wanted to do and this is the result.”The 74‑year‑old Belgian, who has managed South Africa since 2021, admitted the achievement was deeply emotional.
“Probably it will be one of the last games of my career, and when you can end a career like I had in this way, I think every coach dreams of it,” he said.
Broos praised the bond between himself and his players, describing it as “unique” and more like friendship than a traditional coach‑player relationship.
South Africa will now face co‑hosts Canada in Los Angeles on Sunday, with a place in the last 16 at stake. “It should be even more historic,” Broos said.
“Those players want to prove to everyone that they are a good team. We will see next Sunday if we can go further.”
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