Premier Soccer League's 'weak teams with low standards' blamed for Bafana Bafana's poor World Cup performance

The fallout from Bafana Bafana's listless 2-0 defeat to Mexico has sparked a fierce debate regarding the quality of football produced in the Premier Soccer League [PSL].

While the national team entered the historic match with significant expectations, the nature of the capitulation has led to questions on whether the domestic top flight is adequately preparing players for high-intensity international competition.

Renowned football figure Walter Rautmann has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the current PSL setup, placing the blame for the World Cup disappointment squarely at the feet of the league's administrators.

"It was a shocking game," he told Kick Off.

"But the problem is what I've previously highlighted: our PSL standard is so poor, and it shows now in the national team.

"They allowed clubs with history, like Wits, [Moroka] Swallows, [Bloemfontein] Celtic, and SuperSport [United], who produced top players, to be sold to the highest bidder, who has no history, no background, no fanbase, no top-class players, playing in front of 500 fans at a low standard."

"The PSL is to blame for this," he said.

The veteran coach went on to point out that the gap between the dominant forces, such as Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, and the rest of the league is growing too wide, leading to a surplus of matches that fail to test the nation's top talents.

"Only [Mamelodi] Sundowns and [Orlando] Pirates have quality football," he continued.

"They are not challenged by these weak teams with low standards.

"Even a blind man could see this coming," he concluded.

Without a consistent level of high-performance competition across all sixteen clubs, Bafana Bafana's coaching staff faces the uphill task of trying to "level up" players during short international breaks.

The result, as seen against Mexico, is a squad that struggles to maintain tactical discipline and physical stamina against opponents who play in more demanding, competitive leagues.

Bafana have two matches left to salvage their aim of reaching the knockout rounds for the first time in their history.

Next up is South Korea who came from behind to beat Czechia in their Group A opening clash.

The Taegeuk Warriors beat Ghana 1-0 and lost 4-0 to the Ivory Coast when facing African opponents in their warm-up friendlies.

Bafana's final group match is against Czechia who reached the tournament through the European World Cup play offs.