South Africans cautioned against high 2026 FIFA World Cup hopes as 'we have to be realistic' but Bafana Bafana's AFCON performance is not an 'embarrassment'

Although several South Africans believe that their national team was poor in Morocco, that notion has been dismissed.

Bafana arrived in Morocco with high expectations, but they ended up leaving the finals after a Round of 16 defeat to Cameroon. Compared to how they performed in the last edition, this was an underperformance.

With Hugo Broos shouldering much of the blame, former Orlando Pirates coach Rogers De Sa has defended Bafana with quite a controversial statement: 'It was not a bad campaign.'

"They were not so bad, Bafana Bafana. I think they were quite good; the Cameroon game could have gone either way. It was just unfortunate we couldn't score, and of course, those teams will score against you. I don't think we were bad at all," De Sa told KickOff.

"I know we were expected to go further; everybody expected to go further, like last time. But overall, I don't see embarrassment. We were not outplayed, so in general, it was not bad. I know people wanted more, but so does Cameroon, and so does every other country.

"It was not what we wanted, but it was not bad at all. If you have 90% of your team playing at home and you're playing against teams that have 90% of their teams playing in Europe, it's not so bad."

With World Cup time approaching fast, Broos, if he is to be in charge, then he has little time to prepare the team. To have a better campaign in the Mexico-Canada-United States finals, the Belgian has been advised on what he must do. 

Former Bafana Bafana defender Neil Tovey said getting quality opposition for friendly matches before the finals in June is one of the best ways to prepare the team.

“The first obvious preparation plan is to organise some tough friendly matches. There will be windows. I am not sure how many international breaks there are between now and the World Cup," Tovey said.

"You have to make sure it is not local friendlies against your Zambias and Lesothos. And I say this with all due respect. We just expect tough opposition that is on a higher level than us. We must find opposition that has qualified for the World Cup. They are the teams we need for friendly matches.

“That’s the best way if you are talking about proper preparation. We know Mexicans play in a certain way, so go and play against South Americans. I mean, Mexico is in Central America, but their football is very similar to that of the South Americans. So go and play friendlies against Colombias, Chiles, Ecuadors and Paraguays," he added.

“And to prepare for South Korea, we can try to play against Japan. You know those types of teams with a hard-working style, that collectivist way of playing. We need high-intensity friendlies, not our neighbours, please."

However, De Sa said that South Africans must manage their expectations in order to avoid another disappointment should Bafana flop in the global showpiece.

"Let's be honest about it. What do we expect at the World Cup? If we make the second round, then we've achieved it; it's a bonus and a celebration," the former Egypt national team head coach said.

"We have to be realistic; we are going to the World Cup with players from our own league. If we're going there to win the World Cup, then we're looking for disappointments." 

The challenge will be squarely on the Bafana players and the technical bench to perform better and make the country proud again. After an early exit from the Morocco AFCON finals, a far better campaign will restore the national pride and right wrongs.