Evidence Makgopa is part of South Africa's first World Cup knockout-stage run. Hugo Broos has taken the team there for the first time in its history, and the breakthrough comes after a qualification scare that cost South Africa three points.
Hugo Broos Builds the Base
Broos said he had a plan when he arrived and stayed with it until the results arrived. He said the work started four years ago, when he gave chances to players who were not from Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates or Kaizer Chiefs.
He also said he took players from Cape Town City and Baroka, and that the plan was to build a team. His route was not quick. Broos said it took a year before the squad had the right balance.
Teboho Mokoena and the Deduction
Teboho Mokoena said the suspension episode hit him hard. He was fielded in a qualifier against Lesotho despite being suspended because of two yellow cards, and Fifa docked South Africa three points after that.
Mokoena said: “It was a crazy few months of my life because it affected me a lot – my performance at the club [Mamelodi Sundowns] – because I couldn’t even speak about it”. He added: “The only people who understood what was happening were my family and my friends because I told them about it.”
Vincent Tseka, the team’s administrative manager, is primarily responsible for keeping abreast of players’ bookings and suspensions, and a Safa investigation absolved him of blame. South Africa still finished one point ahead of Nigeria and Benin in the group, which left the team in the last-32 tie against Canada.
South Africa and Canada
South Africa had been absent from the World Cup since 2010, after earlier appearances in 1998 and 2002 and a home tournament in 2010. Sunday brought Mokoena back for the last-32 tie against Canada, and the squad now carries a place in the World Cup knockout stages that no South Africa side had reached before.
