South Africa look to silence critics against Czech Republic to keep World Cup hopes alive

Although the outcome of the match against Mexico in the tournament opener was not a surprise, the performance fell well below expectations in front of a global audience, as South Africa ended the game with nine players after two red cards and hardly troubled their opponents.

When compared to the strong results achieved by other African nations such as Morocco, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde and Egypt in their opening matches, it felt like a letdown for a team eager to demonstrate their capabilities on the world stage.

This sparked harsh criticism back home, with everything from individual performances to the tactics of their Belgian coach Hugo Broos coming under scrutiny.

However, ahead of their second Group A match against the Czech Republic in Atlanta on Thursday, Maseko believes the team should take inspiration from the 2023 edition of the continental finals, where they performed poorly in a 2-0 opening loss to Mali but eventually secured the bronze medal after a narrow penalty shoot-out defeat to Nigeria in the semi-finals.

"Something I have noticed is that South Africans are pleased when you win, but when you lose, you are considered the worst. That is a fact," Maseko told reporters.

"We have top players with courage, and if anyone out there doubts this team, they should think again.

"We went to Afcon in 2023 and lost our first game. But we managed to pick ourselves up and returned home with the bronze medal."

The Czechs will present a different kind of challenge with their physical strength and aerial prowess, and Maseko believes South Africa must work harder than their opponents.

"One area we need to improve is our intensity; we have to run extra hard. This is something we discussed as a team. We were not satisfied with the result against Mexico and we want to get better moving forward.

"It is a major tournament with strong teams, but we need to go out there and showcase our talents."

South Africa will also face South Korea in their final group fixture in Monterrey on June 24.