Former Super Eagles Star Sends Message to South Africa After 2–0 Loss vs Mexico
- A former Super Eagles star has sent a message to South Africa at the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup
- The Bafana Bafana lost 2-0 to co-hosts, Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Thursday, June 11
- South Africa faced disciplinary chaos with two players sent off, matching an unwanted tournament record
A former Super Eagles goalkeeper has sent a strong message to South Africa at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Co-hosts Mexico secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over South Africa in the opening match of the tournament on Thursday, June 11.
Saudi league top scorer Julian Quinones opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a low finish through the legs of South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
Source: Getty Images
In the 67th minute, veteran striker Raul Jimenez sealed the victory with a close-range header, ensuring a winning start for the co-hosts.
The Bafana Bafana are currently sitting at the bottom of Group A, after South Korea defeated the Czech Republic 2-1 in the second match.
Akpeyi advises Hugo Broos
Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi has urged South Africa coach Hugo Broos to adjust his tactical approach ahead of Bafana Bafana's second World Cup match against the Czech Republic.
Speaking on SuperSport, the former Chippa United shot-stopper noted that Broos fielded a relatively young side against a vastly experienced Mexican team.
Akpeyi also believes the red cards played a major role in South Africa's 2-0 defeat to Mexico. He said:
“You would agree it is a young team that the coach has tried to put together. With the tactical approach of the coach, he didn't want to lose and concede too many goals.
“But unfortunately, it turned out to be a situation where the team had to play with reduced numbers after the red cards.”
The AFCON bronze medallist added that a victory against the Czech Republic would significantly boost South Africa's chances of progressing to the knockout stage of the tournament. He added:
Source: Getty Images
“Now, it is to go back to the drawing board and see if we can play South African football against Czech to see how far that the team can be able to go.”.
“Because, like this, you don't want to spoil the record that you have made earlier on in 2010 against Mexico and you just want to leave the tournament like this..
“So, you want to try as much as possible to at least get a result with Czech to help give you confidence and see if you can sustain the group,” per ANS.
South Korea came from behind to defeat Czech Republic 2-1, with substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu scoring the winning goal in the 80th minute in the second match, per Sofascore.
Supercomputer predicts World Cup winner
Legit.ng previously reported that Opta’s supercomputer predicted the top five favourite countries to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Spain is the leading favourite while France, England, Argentina and Portugal make up the rest of the top five ahead of the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada.
Source: Legit.ng
