Though their eyes and ears will undoubtedly be fixed on the cacophony of sensations showering down from all storied corners of the Estadio Azteca, for many of the South African team walking out to face World Cup co-host Mexico on Thursday to kick off the tournament, there will be a fleeting moment when they are transported back through time.
The calendar will flip back exactly 16 years to June 11, 2010. It’s the same date, the same Mexican opposition, and even the same occasion – a World Cup curtain raiser – but the time travelers are not the same. They are kids again, standing wide-eyed in front of tv screens or, if they were lucky enough, at Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium, as Siphiwe Tshabalala plants his right foot and prepares to let fly.
The ensuing seconds are seared into the retinas of every Bafana Bafana (The Boys) fan. Tshabalala’s thunderous strike sends the ball rocketing into the top right corner of Óscar Pérez’s net and fires the tournament hosts ahead, as the blaring drone of vuvuzelas is – somehow – drowned out by a roar heard across the country.
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Somewhere amid the bedlam in the stands was a 13-year-old Nkosinathi Sibisi, who is set to make his World Cup debut for Bafana Bafana this week.
“I think we felt the whole country move,” Sibisi told CNN Sports.
“It wasn’t only a great moment for the players, but it was for the whole country and for the whole of Africa.”
Arguably the most memorable moment was still to come, when Tshabalala was joined at the corner flag by four of his teammates to perform an instantly iconic, synchronized dance routine.
Not that South Africa’s present day goalkeeper Sipho Chaine saw any of it. The future shotstopper was out the door and sprinting in giddy celebration up a street near Bloemfontein before the players had even begun their shimmy. Fortunately, his mother was on hand to recreate it when he returned.
“For me, it’s one of my happiest moments,” Chaine recalled to CNN.
“They are all childhood heroes. As a kid, when you look at all these different players, people that you really looked up to, you really wanted to be in the space that they were in.”
Hiatus
As the first goal at the first World Cup ever hosted on African soil, Tshabalala’s goal was a landmark moment for the continent and a welcome new chapter for South African soccer.
Suspended and then expelled from FIFA due to the country’s racial segregation under apartheid rule, South Africa’s teams did not play official matches for three decades before finally returning to the international stage in 1992.
Though winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) four years later remains Bafana Bafana’s high water mark in terms of on-pitch success, Tshabalala’s stunning home opener at the 2010 World Cup represented a “magnet” that the country had been searching for, according to South African Football Association CEO Lydia Monyepao-Yele.
“The whole country erupted, but it was not only about that goal, it was the fact that we were hosting this big global mega football event in our own backyard,” Monyepao-Yele recalled to CNN Sports.
“It reignited a fire in us because we’ve had a very difficult history as a country and it showed the power of football in uniting people. Whoever was next to you, you didn’t care who it was, you hugged them, you celebrated, you held hands. It was just beautiful to watch.”
Yet, for some, there is a greyish tinge to the rose tinted memories of that day. Mexico equalized just 15 minutes later and Bafana Bafana were unable to rebottle the magic, ultimately becoming the first hosts to ever fail to make the knockout stage despite a 2-1 victory over France in their final group game.
Worse was yet to come. Having competed at three of the previous four World Cups, South Africa did not qualify for any of the next three editions. There was scant reprieve to be found on the continent, as they similarly watched three of the next six AFCON tournaments from home.
While the continued usage of stadiums built for the 2010 tournament are positive, the “disappointing hiatus” that followed means that even the euphoria of Tshabalala’s opener cannot overshadow the broader feeling of regret at lost opportunities, according to South African journalist and commentator Mark Gleeson.
“There were high expectations that the 2010 World Cup in South Africa would sort of be the springboard for a much better domestic league, much more interest internationally. And that really didn’t happen,” Gleeson told CNN Sports.
“They had a succession of poor coaches, a little bit of a generational trough in terms of talent, lots of foibles at administrative level with silly people spending silly money on silly things … from a footballing perspective, nobody harks back to 2010 with any fondness at all.”
Opportunity
Thursday, then, gives a fresh generation of Bafana Bafana players the chance to change the narrative.
Much good work has already been done. Under the guidance of Belgian coach Hugo Broos, South Africa finished third at AFCON 2023 before topping Nigeria in World Cup qualifying to stop the rot of absences and stamp its ticket to the US, Mexico and Canada.
Leaning on a spine of players from the South African Premiership’s own Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, 74-year-old Broos has formed a cohesive unit from a squad that lacks the big name stars that dot the rosters of rival African nations.
While Egypt and Morocco can call on the Champions League winning talents of Mo Salah and Achraf Hakimi respectively, forward Lyle Foster is the only Bafana Bafana player who competed in a major European league last season, having been relegated with English Premier League side Burnley.
“When I see (Broos), I see my grandfather,” Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Teboho Mokoena said to CNN.
“My grandfather was very strict, very honest, so he is like that. He brought stability in the national team, he brought unity, he brought brotherhood … Everything we do, we do together, and he’s the silent leader.”
With fixtures against South Korea and Czech Republic to follow the opening clash against Mexico, Gleeson believes South Africa will fancy its chances of a knockout stage place.
In an expanded tournament format that will see eight of the best third-place teams advance to the round of 32, a shock result against Mexico would put Bafana Bafana within touching distance of their deepest ever World Cup run.
“There’s no expectation on their shoulders. Home fans don’t give them any hope. Certainly, the world doesn’t give them any hope,” Gleeson said.
“It’s just the right kind of forum to cause some sort of surprise. You can understand the Mexicans, as co-hosts of the World Cup, there’s gonna be a lot of pressure on them. It’s going to be a big burden of expectation … the kind of pressure that you can really crumble under.”
If a new Tshabalala emerges from the rubble, expect dancing. If Bafana Bafana go further still, expect a lot more of it.
“If they could get past the 32 and into the last 16, I think this country will have a massive party,” added Gleeson.
