Ricardo Goss disappointed by ex-player analysts’ criticism after Bafana loss

Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Ricardo Goss has reacted with disappointment at stinging criticism directed at the team after they lost their opening 2026 Fifa World Cup match against Mexico last week.

It’s disappointing that there are people who’ve been in the game and the [negative] comments they give. For some, they are people who you played with, and you don’t expect people who you were with to speak so much negative stuff

—  Ricardo Goss

The South African players and coach Hugo Broos received a barrage of condemnation from the public and analysts after their 2-0 loss to the co-hosts at Estadio Azteca on Thursday.

Speaking at the team’s hotel at their base in Pachuca, 95km from Mexico City, as Bafana turned their attention to Thursday’s clash against Czechia in Atlanta, Georgia (6pm SA time), Goss, one of the two back-ups to current No 1 keeper Ronwen Williams, directed his response to TV analysts who are former players.

Goss said Bafana have been steadily overcoming the disappointment of losing to Mexico.

He said he did not expect negative comments about the team from people who have been in the game and from others who have played with some of the current members of the squad.

“It’s just disappointing that there are people who have been in the game and the comments that they give. For some, they are people who you played with, and you don’t expect people who you were with to speak so much negative stuff,” he said.

“It is everyone’s dream to be here at the World Cup, maybe in a way they [the analysts] also wanted to be here. But we are a positive bunch, and you guys have seen that.”

Bafana may find themselves in a similar situation as they were in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Ivory Coast in 2024, where they lost their opening match of the tournament to Mali and bounced back to their best finish in 24 years.

“I keep on going back to Afcon in the Ivory Coast, where we lost the first game 2-0 to Mali but went through to get the bronze medal. It is something we can draw from,” Goss said.

“We need to go back and apply what we did after we lost that opening match against Mali. Obviously it’s two different tournaments, and the quality is not the same, but we need to have that mentality that we can bounce back.

“If we do that, I think we can get out of the group.”

One of the major talking points surrounding the Mexico defeat was midfielder Sphephelo Sithole’s mistake where he failed to control a short pass from Ronwen Williams, leading to Julián Quiñones’ ninth-minute opener for Mexico that put Bafana under pressure.

“We are a team that builds from the back. You are bound to pay school fees at some point, that’s what they say.

“The incident was unfortunate; it’s a game of mistakes, and sometimes it costs you points, but we learn and move on.

“We support each other, we don’t blame anyone, and we are a team. You can see the team vibe is back after the two days we had [after the game] and we are happy and excited to go again.

“It is every footballer’s dream to represent their country, and it is the same with us. The way we started the tournament was not according to plan, but we still have two games to get out of the group.”

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