The South Africa national football team, nicknamed Bafana Bafana (“The Boys”), represents South Africa in international football. After decades of isolation during apartheid, South Africa rejoined international football in the early 1990s. Their first appearance in the FIFA World Cup came in 1998, followed by 2002 and then 2010, when they hosted the tournament — becoming the first African host nation in the modern World Cup era. However, despite passionate support and iconic moments like the roar of the vuvuzelas in 2010, they have never advanced beyond the group stage in a World Cup.
After a 16-year absence from football’s biggest stage, South Africa has qualified for the 2026 World Cup — marking their fourth appearance overall. They secured their spot by finishing top of their CAF qualifying group, with a key 3–0 victory over Rwanda on the final day of qualifying.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, featuring a record 48 teams.
Group A — World Cup 2026
South Africa has been drawn into Group A, where they will compete against:
Mexico
South Korea
Czech Republic
South Africa’s campaign begins with a match against Mexico at the Estadio Azteca on June 11, 2026 — the opening day of the tournament. This mirrors their last World Cup opening game in 2010, which was also against Mexico.
Group A
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 |  South Africa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 |  South Korea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 |  Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |