South Africa National Football Team

South Africa's modern football history runs in parallel with the country itself. The South African Football Association was reconstituted in 1991 after re-admission to FIFA following the end of the apartheid sporting ban, and Bafana Bafana have spent the three decades since trying to convert local talent into tournament success. Their high-water mark came almost immediately: a 1996 Africa Cup of Nations win on home soil, Nelson Mandela in a number 6 shirt at the trophy presentation, and a side built around Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish, John Moshoeu and a young Benni McCarthy. Qualification for the 1998 and 2002 World Cups followed, then a longer drought as the country was awarded the 2010 hosting rights and entered automatically. The 2010 squad became the first World Cup hosts ever to exit at the group stage, despite a famous 2-1 win over France and Siphiwe Tshabalala's curling opener against Mexico that is still the most replayed moment of the tournament. The current side has been rebuilt under Hugo Broos, the 73-year-old Belgian who took over in 2021 and led the team to the semi-finals of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast — their best AFCON return since the 1996 title. The spine of that side, with Ronwen Williams in goal, Mothobi Mvala and Inacio Miguel in defence, Teboho Mokoena and Themba Zwane in midfield, and Lyle Foster leading the line, is the group that has carried Bafana back to the World Cup for the first time since 2010.

Bafana Bafana's most replayed single moment came in the 2010 World Cup opener on home soil. Siphiwe Tshabalala's left-footed curler into the top corner against Mexico at Soccer City, 55 minutes into the very first match of the tournament, set off the loudest stadium roar of the entire competition. The match ended 1-1, and South Africa would go on to draw with Uruguay, beat France 2-1 in their final group fixture (Bongani Khumalo and Katlego Mphela the scorers), and still exit on goal difference behind Uruguay and Mexico — making them the first World Cup host nation ever to fail to advance. Their other defining tournament was 2002 in South Korea and Japan, when a Jomo Sono-coached side led 2-1 against eventual finalists Spain at half-time in their second group game before drawing 3-3. They beat Slovenia 1-0 thanks to a Benni McCarthy goal, drew against Paraguay, and went out on goal difference yet again. Mark Fish, Quinton Fortune, Lucas Radebe and Aaron Mokoena form the spine of most South African football fans' memory of that side.