South African activist Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has weighed in on Bafana Bafana’s disappointing start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, placing the blame squarely on head coach Hugo Broos and his technical team following the country’s opening defeat.
South Africa suffered a 2-0 loss to co-hosts Mexico at the iconic Estadio Azteca on Thursday, June 11, in their first match of the tournament.
The match got off to a difficult start for Bafana Bafana, who fell behind in the ninth minute after Mexican forward Julian Quiñones capitalised on a defensive error to score from the edge of the penalty area.
Despite coming under sustained pressure from the hosts, South Africa managed to limit the damage before halftime and entered the break trailing by a single goal.
However, the situation worsened in the second half when defender Yaya Sithole was shown a red card after bringing down a Mexican attacker who had broken through on goal. Reduced to ten men, South Africa struggled to contain Mexico’s attacks.
The hosts eventually doubled their advantage 17 minutes later through experienced striker Raúl Jiménez, effectively putting the match beyond South Africa’s reach.
Any hopes of a comeback were further extinguished in the 83rd minute when veteran midfielder Themba Zwane was also sent off, leaving Bafana Bafana with nine players on the field.
Reacting to the result, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, a prominent political activist known for her anti-immigration stance and leadership role in the March and March movement, criticised the coaching staff’s decisions before and during the game.
According to her, the defeat was evident even before kick-off due to what she described as poor team selection.
“Absolutely the coach’s fault… from the line-up we knew we lost the game before it even started,” she said.
Her comments have since sparked debate among football supporters, with some agreeing that the team’s selection and tactics contributed to the disappointing performance, while others have pointed to the red cards and Mexico’s quality as decisive factors.