Former Bafana Bafana midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane (L) in against Mexico’s Gerrardo Torrado (R) during the FIFA World Cup match between South Africa v Mexico on 11 June 2010.
Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images
- Former Reneilwe Letsholonyane believes Bafana Bafana can upset Mexico at the World Cup, urging the team to stay composed and survive the opening 10-15 minutes.
- Letsholonyane, who started South Africa’s 2010 World Cup opener against Mexico, says Hugo Broos’ squad has the quality and resilience to compete on football’s biggest stage.
- Beyond the tournament, he called for continuity after the World Cup, stressing the importance of building on the progress made under Broos rather than starting another rebuilding cycle.
- Visit our 2026 FIFA World Cup hub.
Former Bafana Bafana midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane has every faith in the current generation of players as they prepare to embark on South Africa’s long-awaited return to the FIFA World Cup when the 2026 edition gets underway on Thursday.
Sixteen years ago, “Yeye”, as he is affectionately known, was part of the Bafana side that carried a nation’s hopes into the opening match of the 2010 World Cup against Mexico.
The midfielder started that memorable encounter and played a key role in the move that culminated in Siphiwe Tshabalala unleashing one of the most iconic goals in football history.
That strike. That celebration. That eruption of noise from Soccer City. It remains one of the defining moments in South African sport.
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Now history offers a fascinating twist.
Bafana will once again open a World Cup campaign against El Tri, only this time on Mexican soil as part of a tournament co-hosted with the United States and Canada.
Like any former player who has experienced the magnitude of the occasion, Letsholonyane understands the emotional weight of stepping onto football’s grandest stage.
And ahead of the clash, the 44-year-old has offered some simple but invaluable advice to Hugo Broos’ men.
For Letsholonyane, the opening exchanges could determine the tone of the entire contest.
He believes the first 10 minutes will be crucial, with Bafana needing to keep things tight, remain disciplined and avoid conceding early as they settle into the occasion.
Once the initial adrenaline fades and the nerves begin to subside, South Africa can then focus on imposing themselves and growing into the match.
“My message to them is that it is going to be a difficult game,” he told News24.
“It’s not going to be as easy as some people might think it would be. But we have a team that is capable of showing that when their backs are against the wall, they are able to get out of those situations.
“This is one of the situations where not a lot of people are giving them a chance of getting out of this one.
“But I believe we have capable players and we have a capable squad. All they need to do is go out there, survive the first 10-15 minutes because it’s normal to be nervous.
“Once they get past that phase, when we are settled, that is when they will see the best of us.
“We can cause an upset, but we are behind them [the team], whether they lose, draw or win. They must know they have our support.”
Bafana will then travel to Atlanta for a meeting with the Czech Republic on 18 June before concluding their group-stage campaign against South Korea on 25 June.
The task is daunting, but far from impossible. While the top two teams in each group automatically progress to the knockout rounds, the expanded 48-team World Cup also offers eight qualification spots to the best third-placed finishers.
For the men’s senior team, who have never advanced beyond the group stage, the opportunity is there to finally shatter that particular glass ceiling.
In truth, this may be Bafana’s best chance yet to break their knockout-round duck. The margins will be fine, every point precious, but progression is no longer a distant fantasy. It is a realistic target for a side that has spent the last five years rebuilding its identity and belief under Broos.
Beyond the tournament itself, however, Letsholonyane believes the focus must also remain on the bigger picture.
With Broos set to step away after the World Cup, the former midfielder hopes South African football can preserve the momentum that has been painstakingly built rather than start another cycle from scratch.
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The World Cup may represent the end of one era, but Letsholonyane hopes it will also mark the beginning of another – one where Bafana’s return to the global stage becomes the norm rather than the exception, and where the foundations laid by Broos continue to carry South African football forward long after the final whistle has blown on his tenure.
“Sometimes we get carried away, for lack of a better way and think we have arrived at a certain level,” Letsholonyane said.
“So, for me, preparation is very important. So, after this tournament… are we preparing for the next one?
“We always wait… and then it [rebuilding] starts again. It’s important that once this tournament is done that there is another one in four years, so that we should prepare already. Then there’s also Afcon that we need to prepare for,” he concluded.
