• The odds are heavily stacked against Bafana Bafana in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup against co-hosts Mexico on Thursday at Azteca Stadium.
• This pressure, rather than harming Bafana, can help them get the better of Mexico as they have a habit of upsetting the football order.
• Bafana will rely on giant-slayer Teboho Mokoena to silence the over 80 000 Mexicans who will fill the stadium - having done this in Rabat, San Pedro and Lubumbashi.
• For more Bafana Bafana news, please visit the News24 dedicated World Cup page.

In Mexico City 

Teboho Mokoena stepped into the Azteca Stadium and took charge like he has done at a many foreign stadiums in matches of consequence when he is flying South Africa’s flag.

The Bafana Bafana talisman dictated the pre-match conference, on the eve of their showdown with Mexico on Thursday in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as he does at the heart of the midfield.

He even addressed the gathered international media in Sesotho and convinced Spanish journalists to ask him in English.

He wasn’t aggressive or disrespectful in his request for them to switch to English, but he was assertive enough that they understood and obliged him after delays in the translation service that were supposed to help Mokoena understand them.

In a way, Mokoena carried himself as he does on the pitch - exerting his dominance with a smile on his face and getting stuck into the things when he has been needed. Mokoena doesn’t instil fear in his opponents. Instead, he hypnotises them to bend to his whims.

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Mokoena didn’t display the qualities of a player who is going to be making his debut at the World Cup.

He felt at home. Mokoena dismissed the pressure on Bafana - from their disappointing showing in the build-up matches, inexperience at this stage and being the underdogs against the hosts who will be backed by the bulk of the more than 80 000 disciples who will make the pilgrimage to one of football’s temples, the Azteca Stadium.

“As a team, to be honest, we are really proud of what we have done to take the national team here,” said Mokoena.

“We know that the feeling of playing in a World Cup is not a feeling that you can experience every day. All of us, this is our first time at the World Cup. It’s only coach Hugo (Broos) and coach Helman (Mkhalele) who have been here before, as players, now they are coming back as coaches.

“We want to enjoy the experience. Enjoying the experience means being competitive, seeing ourselves going to the next round.

“What I said to the guys during the week when we had a meeting is that, ‘We must enjoy the experience, but we mustn’t go home with any regrets. We must give it our all, so that when we go home, we don’t have any regrets.’

“You can even see on my face that I am excited.”

The lad from Bethlehem, with his devilish grin, possesses all the necessary skill set to silence Azteca Stadium. He has, after all, done it in other hostile environments - from Rabat to San Pedro and Lubumbashi.

His bullet stunned AS FAR fans at a packed Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the second leg of the CAF Champions League final last month in Mamelodi Sundowns colours.

READ | Oswin Appollis: The boy from Bishop Lavis who became Bafana’s main attacking threat

Mokoena’s goal sent the iconic venue into hushed silence, while the Brazilians’ supporters were delirious as that goal sealed Sundowns’ second continental title.

He also did that in San Pedro in the Ivory Coast - when he handed Morocco a knockout blow in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations’ (Afcon) round of 16. In both matches, he motioned at the crowd that the foreign soil he was stomping on was his house.

He didn’t do that celebration in Lubumbashi, with his rocket speaking for itself by powering SuperSport United to complete a 2-0 comeback to draw 2-2 with the feared TP Mazembe in the group stage of the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup.

But, could he and Bafana do it against Mexico?

“The win probability is saying that we have 7% chances of going to the next round, or even winning against Mexico,” said Mokoena.

“We don’t have pressure. The pressure is on Mexico as the hosts. So, for us as a team, we know what is expected of us.

“We know how much we have prepared for this game and this tournament. We are just looking forward to the game.”

Mokoena said this with a smile on his face, relishing that it means they have to get stuck in, in order to get the better of El Tri.

Bafana turn into champions when they face the big boys, but wilt into chumps when they face their peers.

Bafana were uninspiring against lowly opponents in matches leading up to this tournament - failing to beat Nicaragua, Jamaica and Panama, who they faced twice.

That, however, doesn’t concern Mokoena. “We are not bothered by the past results,” said Mokoena.

“Those were just practice matches to prepare for the tournament. If you check almost all of the teams that we are with in the group, they have a similar style of play - they all play with five defenders.

“So, it’s only us who don’t play with five at the back. We have analysed them. We have watched their games. It’s going to be tough because you can’t tell who is going to beat who.

“But we just have to show up.”

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The underdog tag that Bafana wear to this game, with most of the world expecting Mexico to comfortably beat them, is a position that the team loves to occupy.

The 2025 Afcon showed that this team hadn’t grown enough to handle the favourites tag. That tag weighed on them and contributed to their disappointment.

But when the odds are stacked against them, this is when Bafana brings out their best. “There are a lot of people who have come here to support us,” said Mokoena.

“I would also like to give thanks to our minister (of Sports, Arts and Recreation), Mr Gayton (McKenzie), for the support that he has given us as a team and for bringing people to Mexico to support the team.

“What I can say is that South Africans must keep on supporting us and believing in us. We will do our best and give everything on the field, and the rest we will leave to God.”

Mokoena added, “What I can say is that South Africans must keep on supporting us and believing in us.

“We will do our best and give everything on the field, and the rest we will leave to God.”