Nkosinathi Sibisi insists Bafana can still keep World Cup dream alive

Bafana Bafana were beaten 2-0 by the tournament co-hosts at a packed Azteca Stadium, leaving them with little margin for error heading into their second group match against Czechia.

Despite the disappointing result, the Orlando Pirates captain believes South Africa showed enough positive signs to suggest their World Cup hopes are still alive.

"We know what we have to do. We have to go back, analyse and recover so that we can be as fresh as possible for the next game," Sibisi told SABC Sport.

"The opportunity is still there, so not all is lost, and I think we saw some glimpses of what we can do, but it just wasn't enough."

Sibisi felt the scoreline did not fully reflect Bafana's performance, insisting the team were mainly undone by a lack of quality in the attacking third.

"We are very disappointed with the result, but I don't think it was a bad game from our side," he said.

"It was just the final ball whenever we were attacking that was lacking."

Captain Ronwen Williams echoed those sentiments, pointing to costly mistakes and missed opportunities as the decisive factors against Mexico.

"It was a very difficult game. We had a game plan that we didn’t want to concede before the first water break," Williams said.

"We knew it would put them on the front foot and get the crowd going; we made a mistake in our build-up and at this level teams will punish you any slight chance they get.

"It was not easy playing a host nation and going a goal down. We kept fighting, but our final pass let us down when we had a few breaks.

"I am proud of the boys, they kept grinding, but the red card in the second half killed the momentum.

"Now we know the level of the competition, we will be much better."

South Africa now head into a must-win clash against Czechia with both sides desperate to secure their first points of the tournament. For Sibisi, the path forward is simple: learn from the mistakes made against Mexico and ensure Bafana Bafana remain in contention for a place in the knockout rounds.