Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has called for significant improvement from his players after South Africa were held to a 1-1 draw by Jamaica in a World Cup warm-up match in Pachuca, Mexico.
South Africa have been quietly preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup since arriving at their base camp in Pachuca earlier this week. Their preparations continued on Saturday with a friendly encounter against Jamaica at Estadio Hidalgo.
Lyle Foster gave Bafana Bafana the lead in the second half before Dwayne Atkinson equalised for the visitors, leaving the teams to share the spoils.
Despite avoiding defeat, Broos admitted he was disappointed with the performance and believes his side must raise their level before facing tournament co-hosts Mexico in their opening Group match at the iconic Estadio Azteca on 11 June.
“The performance was not what I expected,” Broos said after the match.
“We have to analyse the game very well, identify what went wrong and improve in the next few days so that we are ready for the first game against Mexico.”
The experienced Belgian coach revealed that he had felt the team was close to reaching the required standard ahead of the tournament, but Saturday’s display highlighted areas that still need attention.
“I thought we were close, but for me it was a disappointing game. We have to look at what went wrong. I think it was also a matter of mentality. We have to do much more than we did this afternoon if we want good results in the World Cup over the next few weeks,” he added.
Jamaica coach Rudolph Speid, however, believes South Africa did not show their full capabilities during the friendly. He suggested that some players may have been cautious to avoid injuries while trying to impress the coaching staff ahead of the global showpiece.
“As it relates to South Africa, I think they were playing within themselves,” Speid said.
“I didn’t think they were going for it as much as they could have. But playing against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium is going to be a completely different challenge.”
Speid expects Mexico to apply intense pressure from the opening whistle, backed by a passionate home crowd.
“There are going to be thousands of screaming Mexican fans in there. They’ll press very high up the pitch, especially in the first half. It will be relentless, although the pressure may ease as the game goes on,” he said.
Bafana Bafana now have a few crucial days to fine-tune their preparations as they look to begin their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign on a positive note against one of the tournament hosts.