PACHUCA - The 2026 FIFA World Cup gets under way across Mexico, the United States and Canada. And Bafana Bafana have been handed the spotlight from the very start.
Several South African legends are in Mexico for the occasion, and shared their expectations for Bafana's World Cup journey.
For this Bafana Bafana squad, playing at a FIFA World Cup is uncharted territory.
The pressure, the expectation and the global spotlight are unlike anything most of the players have experienced before.
Former Bafana stars who represented South Africa when the country hosted the world's biggest sporting event in 2010 know the emotions, the nerves and the excitement that come with performing on football's grandest stage.
Bernard Parker, former Bafana Bafana striker said: "The experience of the World Cup..it's a feeling that you can’t describe. A feeling out of this world where you just filled with a lot of mixed emotions."
Reneilwe Letsholonyane, former Bafana Bafana midfielder said he was confident the team would progress well in the tournament.
"We have been doing well, we’ve improved in the continent, and that is how things should be. Firstly you improve in your region, in Africa we are among the so-called top countries and now we need to step up in the World Cup, obviously in the World.”
Bafana Bafana's ultimate ambition is to reach the knockout stages and make history on the world stage. But before they can think about progression, the immediate task is clear. The focus has to be on the next 90 minutes, the next challenge, and the next result.
Taking care of the short-term objectives is the only way South Africa can turn a World Cup dream into reality.
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Lance Davids, former Bafana Bafana midfielder added: "The coach will definitely tell them to go game by game. We can’t look ahead, because you don’t know what is going to happen in the next game between Czech and South Korea. The game they will play is the most important. If they get a good result against Mexico, they are onto the next game. And that will push their confidence up."
More than 80,000 spectators from around the world are expected on Thursday at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, and more than one billion people from around the world will watch the clash on television screens.
The match kicks off on Thursday at 9pm, South African time.
Watch video for full report by Justin Ford.