Post Match Review (Match No. 01)—South Africa vs Mexico
By Mr. B for Ball
Ever heard of the 12th man in soccer? Generation Alpha fans know about him very well. Maybe the younger generation does too. He can change the trajectory of any game by giving motivation, dampening morale or even killing tournaments. A fast-rising sports platform chose this phenomenon as its moniker: it calls itself jersenumber12! Just imagine that! That is emblematic of the critical role this man can play in any sport.
Are you still trying to imagine if this 12th man thing is all made up? If you are, then never mind, I’ll use a live example to explain it. Now, cast your mind back to Match No. 01 of the on-going FIFA 2026 World Cup being hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. Did you watch the game by the way? If you did or didn’t, I’ll fill you in anyway.
Mexico played South Africa but the latter were the home team in the fixture…and the 12th man showed up big time, not in favour of The Boys, The Boys (“Bafana Bafana”) as the South African Men’s Soccer team are known, but in support of the Mexicans.
In case you wondered who the “gentleman” being referred to was, let me just tell you straightway that the 12th man wasn’t one person but 80,824 women, men, boys and girls who thronged the 87,000-seater Estadio Azteca (Azteca Stadium in English) to watch the game.
No, they were not neutral. They came to show their power in favour of the “El Tri,” as the Mexican Men’s National Soccer team are known and believe me, as far as I am concerned, their impact was felt right from when the national anthems were rendered. Their constant, sustained and overzealous noise (if ever it could be so described) clearly unsettled the South Africans.
Yes, the vociferous impact of the 12th man was felt within the very first 10 minutes of the match. Sphephelo Sithole received a ball from his goalkeeper, tried to play from the back but the resounding cacophony of the 12th man was so overwhelming that the Mexican player, Erik Lira, stole the ball away from him and got his teammate, Julian Quinones, to fire home through the legs of Ronwen Williams (the South African goalkeeper), in the 8th minute.
The otherwise usually brilliant Williams was made to look mediocre by that goal and the El Tri were well on their way to starting their campaign on a solid note.
With the chants ever rising in crescendo, the atmosphere remained charged as the match progressed. Then Sphephelo Sithole (49th) and Themba Zwane (84th) were both issued red cards respectively—for acts deemed manifestly unlawful during the game—rare occurrence in World Cup history (the most recent time such happened was in the 2006 World Cup—20 years ago)!
Although a Mexican player (Cesar Montes, 90+2) would also bag a red card, the match had already been technically lost and the El Tri were already in celebratory mood…that’s how powerful the 12th man can be!
Bafana Bafana lost the game, but if you thought that was the end of the 12th man, then you’re gravely mistaken. He was still following the SA Boys and met them online. He engaged them and it was relentless.
The first 12th man was Mexican. The second 12th man (online) were Africans.
If South Africa recovers to excel in their remaining matches, it may not be the handiwork of the coach but the soothing therapy of the team psychologist. They really need him or her to enable them overcome both 12th men!
Will that happen? We shall know sooner than later.
Well, the moral of the story, sorry, of this match, is that you should ever underestimate the 12th man in everything you do, even off the football pitch. It’s called your support system!