Former South Africa winger and attacking midfielder Steven Pienaar has urged Bafana Bafana to make more runs in behind ahead of their decisive Group A match against South Korea. Pienaar, who played for Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax, posted on X during South Africa’s 1-1 draw with Czechia in Atlanta: “Why is there no running of the ball from Bafana? They all want the ball to feet, no deep runs.”
South Africa salvaged their first point of the 2026 World Cup with an 83rd-minute penalty from Teboho Mokoena in Atlanta but remain bottom of Group A going into the match in Guadalupe next Wednesday, with kick-off at 3 a.m. on Thursday for viewers in South Africa. Pienaar followed up after the final whistle with another message calling for “breaking runs” in the next game.
Mokoena’s penalty kept Bafana alive in the group and mirrored his decisive late goal for Mamelodi Sundowns in the 2025-26 CAF Champions League final second leg against AS FAR in Rabat. Sundowns secured their second CAF Champions League title in 2025-26, underscoring the recent strength of South African club football.
Group A standings head into the final round with Mexico on six points, South Korea on three and Czechia and South Africa level on one point each, Czechia ahead on goal difference. This Bafana side will enter the last match with one point from two games; in the expanded tournament format, third place could be sufficient to reach the round of 32.
Pienaar was a key member of South Africa’s 2010 World Cup squad. South Africa have made four World Cup appearances overall and have never advanced to the knockout rounds; in 2010 they finished the group stage with a 2-1 win over France but did not progress. After Lyle Foster’s relegation from the Premier League with Burnley, there is currently no English top-flight player in the South African squad.
