By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa will face Czechia in a crucial Group A match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be played at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium stadium, Atlanta city on Thursday, June 18.
Both teams are desperate for a win to keep their knockout stage hopes alive after suffering defeats in their tournament openers.
Bafana Bafana saw 39% of the possession against Mexico and Czechia 38% against South Korea. Both teams set up to play pragmatic, defensive-minded football.
The key tactical question for Hugo Broos and Miroslav Koubek to answer is whether or not this is the moment to roll the dice and set up their teams to inflict damage on the opponents first and foremost, rather than plotting to absorb potential threats and wait for mistakes.
Broos shocked South Africans by setting up with a 5-3-2 against Mexico and leaving his most enterprising ball-carrying attacking players on the bench.
Bafana Bafana winger Thapelo Maseko believes the side should draw inspiration from the 2023 edition of continental finals, where they were dire in a 2-0 opening loss to Mali but ended up with the bronze medal after a narrow penalty shoot-out defeat to Nigeria in the semi-finals.
“Something that I’ve picked up is that South Africans are happy when you win, but when you lose, you are the worst. That is a fact,” Maseko told reporters.
“We have big players with heart and if there is anyone out there doubting this team, they better think again.
“We went to Afcon in 2023 and lost the first game. But we were able to pick ourselves up and came back home with the bronze medal.”
The Czechs will provide a different type of challenge with their physicality and aerial ability, and Maseko believes South Africa must outwork their opponents.
“One thing we must improve on is the intensity, we need to run extra hard. It is something we spoke about as a team. We were not happy with the result against Mexico and we want to improve going forward.
“It is a big tournament with big teams, but we must go out there and showcase our talents.”
Siphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane are both suspended for this match following their red cards in the tournament opener against Mexico. By default, they will each serve one-match suspensions and return for Bafana Bafana’s final group stage game against South Korea.