Former South African football icon Doctor Khumalo has revealed that Bafana Bana will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be staged in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Having been inspired by Bafana Bafana’s recent successful third-place finish in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in the Ivory Coast, Khumalo thinks this is a stepping stone to more success that will come their way in concreting a firm position in the global showpiece tournament.
Bafana Bafana’s show in AFCON was an overachievement as they had a lot of negatives heading into the competition. The performance will give them a first medal since 2000, and they have risen the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA rankings. Khumalo, a key figure in South Africa’s victory on home soil in 1996, feels that the good form can only bode well looking forward.
Revisiting the World Cup journey of Bafana Bafana, Khumalo confesses that the team has traveled a rollercoaster of challenges the past few years. South Africa made their last appearance in the FIFA World Cup in the year 2002, and this time, they participated as the hosts of the tournament. However, Khumalo still remains optimistic that come 2026, their fate in the World Cup will change.
Asked on the need for continuity and development in the team, Khumalo said the emphasis should be on keeping the team stable and to use young talent alongside the experienced. He said the appointment of Walter Steenbjson as Technical Director by the South African Football Association (SAFA) is good.
The role that Steenbok will play will be critical in ensuring continuity and talent evolution as far as the setup of the national team is concerned. The vast experience that Steenbok has, together with the in-depth understanding of the requirements by SAFA, pushes the team to a point in the horizon of being permanent, according to the coach Khumalo
Though Bafana Bafana has been overwhelmingly local-based, Khumalo has pointed out that there is a bunch of players based in Europe that can be used to boost the team’s fortunes. He has thus called for proper scouting and reviewing of such players for consideration in the national team.
Going forward, Khumalo feels that the success of Bafana Bafana at the AFCON will draw attention from foreign clubs, with most of the South African players getting more opportunities to play abroad. He, therefore, is very optimistic that this would make the team much stronger and competitive going forward.
While South Africa are eyeing their qualification in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Khumalo’s optimism then raises the fans and the players together. A new sense of purpose and determination has been found, and Bafana Bafana are once again on their road for their grandest stage in football.
