AGENCIES

Hugo Broos walked away from Los Angeles Stadium on Sunday with the pain of defeat still fresh, but not with regret. South Africa’s 1-0 loss to Canada in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 may have ended Bafana Bafana’s historic run, yet it did little to diminish what the 74-year-old Belgian had achieved.

A stoppage-time strike from Stephen Eustaquio denied South Africa a place in the last 16, but Broos insisted there was more reason for pride than disappointment.

“We can look back on this tournament with happiness,” he said afterwards. “I don’t think anybody expected that before the tournament.”

For Broos, the defeat could also mark the final chapter of a football career spanning more than five decades. The former Belgium international, who appeared at the 1986 World Cup as a player, confirmed this tournament would be his last on football’s biggest stage, though he stopped short of announcing whether he would step away from coaching altogether.

Born in Humbeek in 1952, Broos established himself as one of Belgium’s finest defenders, winning domestic and European honours with Anderlecht before ending his playing days at Club Brugge. He later built an impressive coaching resume, collecting league titles, cup successes and four Belgian Coach of the Year awards, while guiding Cameroon to Africa Cup of Nations glory in 2017.

When he accepted the South Africa job in 2021, Bafana Bafana were a side struggling for direction, absent from the World Cup since hosting the tournament in 2010. Broos rebuilt the team around a core of largely domestic-based players, demanding discipline, organisation and collective belief.

Those qualities were evident throughout the tournament. After an opening defeat to Mexico in which South Africa had two players sent off, they recovered to draw with Czechia and beat South Korea to reach the knockout stages for the first time in the nation’s history.

Against Canada, however, Broos acknowledged the limitations of his squad. He pointed to a lack of power, pace and speed of execution compared with their opponents, arguing that modern football increasingly rewards physicality alongside technical ability.

Yet the coach refused to let one defeat define the campaign.

“It is sore now because we wanted to win,” Broos said. “But what we did was good. I’m very proud of my team.”

South Africa may be out, but under Hugo Broos they are certainly not down.