WATCH | Shabba says Bafana’s World Cup group is only easy on paper

Bafana Bafana legend Siphiwe “Shabba” Tshabalala has explained why Bafana’s Group A of the 2026 World Cup is tougher than it looks on paper.

Bafana are in Group A with one of three hosts in Mexico, alongside South Korea and Czechia.

SA face Mexico in the opener at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca in what will be a repeat of the 2010 World Cup opening game next week Thursday. The US and Canada are hosting this World Cup starting on June 11 to July 19 alongside Mexico.

Shabba, who scored the famous opening goal of what was the first ever global showpiece in Africa, has detailed why Bafana’s Group A isn’t as easy as it may look.

“It’s a tough group that looks OK or easy on paper, but it’s not. You have teams that don’t have a lot of big names and that should be a worry because it means you must prepare well for each and every individual and profile them individually in those teams,” Tshabalala stated.

“Those three teams have different styles of play as well... you play Mexico in the first game and they will be hyped up, playing at home as one of the hosts.”

Tshabalala also outlined the strengths of each of Bafana’s three Group A rivals. “They [Mexico] will be driven more by passion, knowing that the entire country is behind them,” Shabba said.

“Czechia have big boys, very tall players and they play direct players.

“Korea have got Son [Heung-min, who achieved legendary status at Tottenham Hotspur before leaving for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles in the US at the end of the 2024/25 season], who’s so deadly in front of goal. But besides having him, they are very disciplined tactically, and they can play well together, but we do have a chance.”

Bafana, who are billed to face Jamaica on Friday in their last warm-up fixture before the start of the World Cup, finally left SA shores on Monday after visa issues prevented them from leaving on Sunday.

Sowetan