England legends John Terry and Ian Wright have criticised Bafana Bafana’s tactical approach following their 2-0 defeat to Mexico in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup.
Goals from Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez secured all three points for the hosts, who capitalised on South Africa’s mistakes and eventually overcame Hugo Broos’ side, despite Bafana finishing the match with nine men.
Speaking on SuperSport TV after the game, Terry questioned both Hugo Broos’ tactics and his post-match assessment.
The Bafana coach insisted he was pleased with his team’s performance and suggested Mexico looked desperate at times during the contest.
The former Chelsea and England captain strongly disagreed with Broos’ assessment.
“You’re forced into two changes because of the red card. I thought Lyle Foster was poor tonight, I thought he started the game poorly and that could be another change as well,” Terry said after the Bafana defeat.
“I think the manager has watched a different game to me tonight. That was poor. Look, you only have three games at this World Cup and you need to be really honest and direct. You can’t beat around the bush.”
Despite his criticism, Terry believes South Africa can still qualify from the group.
“Looking at these three games, I always thought this one was going to be tough. The Czech Republic and South Korea games are winnable for South Africa.”
Bafana lose to Mexico, Terry still has hope
Fellow England legend Ian Wright was equally critical of Bafana’s display, expressing disappointment with the team’s defensive approach.
Wright felt South Africa abandoned the attacking style that has brought them success under Broos and instead looked uncomfortable in a new system.
“They changed their system. I know they were not playing great coming into the tournament, but they changed from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 and we could see they don’t know what they are doing,” he said.
“They will probably have to re-examine their approach. I thought they were very poor and sloppy. That won’t go down well in South Africa, that’s for sure.”
Terry and Wright feel Bafana will need to change their approach if they are to get out of their group.
Bafana Bafana will now look to bounce back in their remaining Group A fixtures against the Czech Republic and South Korea, knowing another defeat could severely damage their hopes of reaching the knockout stages.