Benni McCarthy slams South Africa's 'horrific' World Cup opener against Mexico

Benni McCarthy pulled no punches after South Africa’s 2-0 defeat to Mexico at the Azteca in their World Cup 2026 opener, describing a performance that also saw Bafana Bafana reduced to nine men as “horrific” and one he “couldn’t believe.”

McCarthy, who served as a first-team coach at Manchester United under Erik ten Hag and is a former South Africa international who played for Blackburn Rovers and West Ham, was working as a pundit ahead of the Ivory Coast vs Ecuador fixture when he gave his damning verdict to the BBC’s Mark Chapman.

“They were horrific,” McCarthy said. “I couldn’t believe what I saw. I expected South Africa to come, maybe not beat Mexico, but at least give a good showcase of, ‘these are our strengths’, but we lost our complete identity.”

Despite the scoreline appearing relatively contained on paper, McCarthy acknowledged South Africa were fortunate not to concede more, particularly given the two straight red cards they received. He singled out the manner of Raul Jimenez’s goal as evidence of defensive lapses that opponents will look to exploit.

With Czech Republic and South Korea still to come in the group stage, McCarthy warned that both sides will have done their homework on Bafana Bafana’s vulnerabilities — specifically their struggles to deal with crosses and set-piece deliveries.

“Czech Republic, when you look at the match against South Korea, they’ve targeted South Korea because of the height-wise, and they were bombing in balls, left, right, and centre: free kicks, corner kicks, throw-ins, long throws,” he said. “They analysed South Africa and they’ll have figured South Africa don’t do well in stopping crosses in. So that’s another way for them to probably target South Africa.”

McCarthy also reflected on the mood among supporters back home, admitting the result has left the nation deflated. “People just couldn’t believe that we never really showcased what South African football is about,” he said. “And I don’t think we’re gonna have the opportunity to do so now, because they’ll be calculating not to lose both games, and then maybe we won’t come out and play the way we really want to play.”

South Africa’s remaining group fixtures against Czech Republic and South Korea now take on a must-not-lose urgency if Bafana Bafana are to have any realistic hope of progressing.