Bafana Bafana Falls 2 – 0 to Rwanda

In a case of instant karma, South Africa’s senior men’s team faced its first loss in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, hours after Coach Hugo Broos suggested Zimbabwe be banned for lacking a suitable stadium.

On Tuesday, Rwanda beat South Africa 2-0 in a 2026 World Cup Qualifier. The result naturally brought joy to Zimbabweans, particularly those displeased with Broos’ proposal to ban their beloved Warriors until they possess their own stadium.

Zimbabwe is one of 17 countries forced to play in neutral venues in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. They used Huye Stadium in Butare, Rwanda to host their home Group C encounter against Nigeria on Sunday.

Coach Hugo Broos suggested that blocking countries like Zimbabwe from participating in the qualifiers would be the most effective solution to the stadium crisis.

“This one thing I don’t understand in African football is that home games are not home games. I think Zimbabwe will play their home games in South Africa, so we have a little advantage for that game. So, what I saw in the past, for example, Liberia played their home game in Morocco, I’m very sorry but this is not correct. I think CAF must do something about this,” Broos said as quoted by IDiski Times.

These comments did not sit well with South Africa’s neighbour, Zimbabwe. Unfortunately for South Africa, known as Bafana Bafana in football circles, they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Rwanda, with goals scored by Innocent Nshuti in the 12th minute and Gilbert Mugisha in the 28th minute.

Zimbabweans took to X (formerly Twitter) to revel in South Africa’s defeat. Here are some of the comments:

@Ossie_Ozwa:

Hanzi Rwanda inombo zvida here zvevanhu vanotuka maroja ayo ( Yesterday the South African head coach said countries without stadiums like Zimbabwe should be banned from playing football)