How World Cup Team Who Were ‘Miles Off It’ Made it to the Last 32

Let’s be honest – when we saw South Africa take on Mexico in the opening game of the 2026 World Cup, we all thought that Bafana Bafana looked like a doomed outfit. Hopeless both in and out of possession, many wondered how they had even qualified in the first place.

Some outlets began branding them as the ‘worst’ team in the World Cup. Indeed, they were very, very poor upon the tournament’s inauguration – but somehow, some way, South Africa managed to finish second in Group A and qualify for the round of 32.

So how did they do it? How did they defy the pundits? We’ll look at how they managed to turn things around and secure qualification under the unlikeliest of circumstances.

South Africa vs Mexico

Bafana Bafana’s opening game against World Cup co-hosts Mexico was, to put it bluntly, a disaster. El Tricolor looked threatening from the first whistle, moving the ball quickly and unsettling their opposition. By comparison, South Africa looked turgid, unsettled and lacked an appropriate game plan.

With less than ten minutes on the clock, they began imploding. Ronwen Williams played an ill-advised ball to Sphephelo Sithole from a goal kick, which he duly miscontrolled and gave away. Mexico were more than happy to capitalise, feeding the ball through to Julián Quiñones, who slammed the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-0.

South Africa never recovered from this – in the second half, they were even worse. Sithole’s poor performance was compounded after he received a red card, followed by another Mexico goal just over 15 minutes later. To make matters yet more dire, Themba Zwane was also given his marching orders after 84 minutes – opening games don’t get much worse than this. Former South Africa captain Dean Furman went as far as to describe their performance as a ‘nightmare from start to finish’ [via BBC Sport].

		Games Played	Points	G/D
1.	Mexico	1	3	2
2.	South Korea	1	3	1
3.	Czechia	1	0	-1
4.	S. Africa	1	0	-2

South Africa vs Czech Republic

South Africa looked destined for another dismal defeat against the Czech Republic, conceding after just six minutes. They were caught out by a long throw-in down the right flank – then, as the ball was played into the box, their defence failed to reorganise as Michal Sadílek slotted the ball into the back of the net under no pressure whatsoever.

Following this calamity, South Africa finally seemed to wake up. Making some dangerous forays into the box, even playing some attractive football in doing so, the Czech Republic began struggling to contain them. Their backline still looked to be all at sea, but some brilliant last-ditch defending from Ime Okon and Thalente Mbatha kept them in it.

Then, with ten minutes left to go, a speculative shot hit a Czech hand in the penalty area. Having been awarded a spot-kick, it was taken by Teboho Mokoena who sent the ‘keeper the wrong way. In doing so, he rescued a point for Bafana Bafana and gave their once-thought-to-be-dead World Cup campaign new life.

		Games Played	Points	G/D
1.	Mexico	2	6	3
2.	South Korea	2	3	0
3.	Czechia	2	1	-1
4.	S. Africa	2	1	-2

South Africa vs South Korea

With just one point from their first two games, though, South Africa were still fancied to finish bottom of their group. Facing off against South Korea in their final group game, who boasted players such as Lee Kang-In, Hwang Hee-Chan and the legendary Son Heung-Min, their chances looked remote.

Despite an early scare from Lee, South Africa quickly grew into the game and began to look like the better team. Moving the ball directly and with purpose, they took advantage of the space left in behind by South Korea. All of a sudden, the Asian outfit looked unsettled, conceding possession under little pressure – Bafana Bafana, meanwhile, looked composed, focused and rutheless.

Midway through the second half, South Africa broke once again. Tshepang Moremi played the ball into the box front the left flank, which was controlled brilliantly by Thapelo Maseko. With his second touch, he scored a great goal at the ‘keeper’s near post, sending South Korea into a downward spiral. Unable to respond, Bafana Bafana secured an historic win.

		Games Played	Points	G/D
1.	Mexico	3	9	6
2.	S. Africa	3	4	-1
3.	South Korea	3	3	-1
4.	Czechia	3	1	-4

With the Czech Republic having lost to Mexico, South Africa had secured their qualification into the knockout rounds – for the first time in their history, we might add. They’ll play Canada in the last 32 – can they go one step further?