South Africa are in Group A at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19 across 16 stadiums in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Below you'll find every South Africa group stage match with kickoff times automatically converted to your local timezone. Select your timezone above to get the exact time each South Africa game kicks off wherever you're watching from. No app, no signup โ just South Africa's full World Cup schedule in your time.
Sixteen years is a long time to wait. South Africa's last World Cup was on home soil in 2010 โ and while they became the first host nation ever eliminated in the group stage, they left with one of the most iconic moments in World Cup history.
When Siphiwe Tshabalala rifled home the opening goal of that tournament at Soccer City, sending 84,000 fans into delirium, it was the kind of moment that reminds you why football matters. Bafana Bafana are back โ and they carry that memory with them to North America.
South Africa's qualifying campaign had a complicated middle section โ they were handed an automatic 3-0 defeat for fielding an ineligible player, which cost them crucial points and put their qualification in jeopardy. They responded by winning their final game 3-0 against Rwanda, and results elsewhere went their way to see them finish top of their CAF group ahead of Nigeria. They finished with 18 points across the campaign โ five wins, three draws, and two defeats. It wasn't pretty, but they got there.
Captain Ronwen Williams is arguably their most important player โ a goalkeeper who can keep South Africa in games they have no right to be in. In attack, Oswin Appollis is set to burst onto the global stage after years of quiet promise, while Lyle Foster of Burnley brings Premier League physicality and know-how. Veteran attacking midfielder Themba Zwane, 36, is the squad's most experienced outfield player โ the calm head this team will need when games get tight.
Group A โ South Africa, Mexico, South Korea, Czechia โ is a tough draw on paper. But here is the thing about teams with nothing to lose: they can be the most dangerous ones in the room. One win plus a draw could be enough to advance, and South Africa could stand a real chance if Williams saves what he needs to save and Foster takes his opportunities. The new 48-team format means eight third-place teams go through โ South Africa don't need to top the group. They just need to be competitive.
Nobody expected Tshabalala's goal in 2010. That is kind of the point.
