Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams says coach Hugo Broos deserves a statue after South Africa qualified for the knockout stages of a Fifa World Cup finals for the first time in the country’s history.
Bafana’s 1-0 victory over South Korea at Monterrey Stadium in the early hours of Thursday morning was enough to secure second place in Group A, setting up a last-32 clash with Canada at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday.
“He deserves a statue,” said Williams after the game. “He deserves the highest recognition, for the belief he has shown in this team from the first day. Sometimes we don’t have the belief we can win games and achieve things and he always tells us we can. Each and every day, when our backs are against the wall, when people are criticising us, he is always there. As much as this is for 62 million South Africans, this is for coach Hugo.” 
Broos, who has spoken about the special bond between himself and his players, reflected on a journey that began five years ago amid heavy public scepticism.
“Don’t forget this journey started five years ago. There was a lot of criticism then, people didn’t understand what we were doing, until the moment we started having results,” said Broos. “I have always had belief in this group, even in the past weeks when the critics were hard on us.”
Bafana had looked unlikely candidates for the last 32 after a poor 2-0 loss to Mexico on 11 June, but a late penalty earned them a 1-1 draw with Czechia before they produced their best performance of the tournament against South Korea.
“I never doubted this group, they have already given me so much,” said Broos. “I was nearly sure we would get a good result. You saw the guys working and fighting for every ball, they wanted to be in the next round. It is a combination between me as a coach and them as players. Maybe it is something unique. I am their coach but not only their coach. I am their friend. The relationship between me and the players is very good and I am happy for them.”
The 74-year-old Belgian was pointed in his response to critics who had called for changes after the Mexico defeat.
“I think we gave an answer to all the big mouths last week who thought we had to change and told us what we had to do,” said Broos. “I just did what I wanted.”
Those critics had largely focused on Broos’s tactical decisions in the opening match, where he deployed a back five at the Azteca Stadium, a formation he has rarely used with much success during his tenure. He reverted to a back four against both Czechia and South Korea.
Bafana also lacked midfield creativity against Mexico, with Iqraam Rayners and Lyle Foster isolated up front. The team’s fortunes shifted when Broos introduced Relebohile Mofokeng at half-time against Czechia, a move that had been widely called for beforehand.
Mofokeng’s ability to find pockets of space between the lines gave Bafana far greater fluidity in attack and helped build the pressure that led to the late penalty.
The Orlando Pirates midfielder started against South Korea and was again decisive, dropping into space and threading passes that created several chances before Thapelo Maseko netted the winning goal in the 63rd minute.
