Coach Hugo Broos not giving up after South Africa's opening day fail in Mexico

South Africa slumped to a disappointing 2-0 defeat with nine men
South Africa slumped to a disappointing 2-0 defeat with nine menJUANCHO TORRES / ANADOLU / ANADOLU VIA AFP

Coach Hugo Broos tried to put a brave face on it, but a 2-0 loss to co-hosts Mexico and two red cards was a desperately poor start to the World Cup for South Africa.

Victory always looked a long shot for Bafana Bafana, but the manner in which they lost will be a concern for fans, as they gifted Mexico goals and showed the kind of ill-discipline that only comes with pressure.

Still, Broos said he was pleased with his side despite the defeat.

“I think my team played a good game,” the Belgian said. “In some moments Mexico were desperate in the game, they didn’t know how to find space.

“The only thing we must be better at in the next game is when we have the ball. We were not so good with that today, we have to work on it.”

Bafana lost Yaya Sithole to a last-man foul, before their talisman Themba Zwane was red-carded for a swinging arm.

I think the first red card (for Sithole), I won’t say anything about. With the second red card, I think the Mexican player fouled my player. But the referee decided something else,” said Broos. “It is a bit of a pity we had to finish the game with nine players.”

Broos admitted his side were under pressure in the opening 20 minutes but then came out of their shell and had their moments.

When you play a game against the hosts, you will be under pressure,” he said. “But the only moment we were under pressure was in the first 20 minutes. After that we had the ball and played well.

“But we made two mistakes on our side. In those moments you don’t have to lose the ball. We lost the ball, and there was space for Mexico and they could score twice.

"It's not nice for both players to get a red card in the first game of the World Cup. Now we have two players who cannot play the next game.

"But we still have a lot of players, so if we show the same mentality and play the same way as today, I'm sure we will have great results in the next two games.

"We have seven days (until they face the Czech Republic in Atlanta). These guys are professional, so I don't think there will be a problem, I'm sure there won't be," Broos said. "We need the next two days to get over the disappointment and the fatigue. From Saturday, Sunday, the guys will be ready to do good training."

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