South Africa head coach Hugo Broos says Bafana Bafana have answered their critics after securing a historic place in the FIFA World Cup knockout stage for the first time with a 1-0 victory over South Korea on Wednesday.
The win saw South Africa finish second in Group A behind co-hosts Mexico, who maintained a perfect record with three wins from three matches.
Making only their fourth World Cup appearance and their first since hosting the tournament in 2010, South Africa recovered impressively after opening their campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Mexico.
A draw against the Czech Republic kept their qualification hopes alive before Thapelo Maseko’s second-half goal secured victory over South Korea in Monterrey and booked their place in the Round of 32.
Broos, who has managed South Africa since 2021, said the achievement proved doubters wrong.
“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 that we had to change something,” the Belgian coach said.
“We just did what we did. We just did what I wanted to do and this is the result.”
The 74-year-old described the qualification as one of the most emotional moments of his coaching career.
“I said it already in the past that 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 also praised the strong relationship he has built with his players, saying he never lost faith in the squad despite criticism following their opening defeat.
“I think I’m a friend of theirs. So the relationship between the players and me is very good,” he said.
South Africa will now face co-hosts Canada in Los Angeles on Sunday for a place in the Round of 16.
Broos expressed confidence that his players would be ready to make more history.
“I just know that the players will be ready again and try to achieve the third round,” he said.
“It should be even more historic. Those players want to prove to everyone that they are a good team. We will see on Sunday if we can go further.”
