Former Bafana Bafana coach admits fear of facing stronger teams.

Former South Africa senior men’s national team head coach Owen Da Gama has said that Bafana Bafana are afraid of playing against larger footballing nations.

Bafana Bafana’s final preparations for the World Cup have been severely disrupted by a visa crisis and disappointing performances.

In addition to the South African Football Association’s failure to secure stronger opponents for friendly matches, the squad’s travel plans were thrown into disarray on Sunday, 31 May 2026, when their scheduled charter flight to Mexico was cancelled.

“I’m very disappointed to be honest with you, very, very disappointed, not only in Nicaragua but for the fact that we played against a national team that is 131st in the world, playing them at home, for me that is very, very poor preparation,” Da Gama told KickOff.

“You playing Panama, then you playing Nicaragua, for me that is very terrible preparations. I think we just want to keep our record that we are unbeaten and those type of things. To me that is very, very poor.”

Also Read: 2026 W/Cup: Broos Laments Bafana’s Poor Performance In 1-1 Draw With Jamaica

“If you look at the group that we are in, all those teams are ranked above us, South Korea, Czech Republic, and Mexico. They are very well‑ranked. And now you are going to play these unknown countries like Nicaragua and Panama, I think for me the most important thing, like when we went to the Olympics with the Under‑23 team we played Brazil away they beat us, we played Japan away they beat us. But when we went to the Olympics we were well‑prepared and we drew with Brazil in the opening game of the Olympics. With 10 men after Mothobi got a red card.”

“So you must go to the World Cup well‑prepared. And I think we are scared of playing bigger countries. I don’t know if it’s about money because I understand we were supposed to play Brazil and they wanted R5 million, but the government must assist wherever they can.”

“I’m praying that we do okay in the World Cup, but I don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m being honest with you. I will still support Bafana Bafana 100%, but for me preparations are the most important thing. Our preparations have been terrible, very, very poor.”

James Agberebi

James is a sport content creator and also does analysis on sports. Also, James has covered international matches involving both Nigeria’s men and women national teams. Facebook : James Agberebi