Former Bafana Bafana captain Steven Pienaar has predicted that South Africa will defeat co-hosts Mexico 2-0 in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A opener at the Estadio Azteca on Thursday, 11 June — despite a troubling five-match winless run heading into the tournament.

Hugo Broos' side have not tasted victory throughout 2026, a drought that stretches back to their Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 elimination at the hands of Cameroon in Morocco in January. Warm-up fixtures against Panama and Nicaragua did little to settle supporters' nerves ahead of football's grandest stage.

The challenge does not get any easier on paper. South Africa enter the tournament ranked 60th in the world — significantly below all three Group A rivals. Mexico sit 14th, South Korea 25th, and Czech Republic 39th.

Pienaar's bold call

Yet the former Everton midfielder, who featured for Bafana Bafana at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, refuses to be deterred. Pienaar believes the current Mexico side falls well short of the standard set by their 2010 counterparts, and that today's South Africa squad is stronger than the one he played in.