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Former Nigerian internationals Ifeanyi Udeze and Brown Ideye have commended South Africa’s impressive 1-1 draw against Czechia in the second match of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Teboho Mokoena’s 83rd-minute penalty kick goal salvaged a point for South Africa during a 1-1 draw with Czechia on Thursday.
Shaky Start For South Africa
It didn’t start well for South Africa as Michal Sadílek scored the fastest goal of the 2026 World Cup so far with a sixth-minute strike to put Czechia ahead early.
But Mokoena scored from the spot with seven minutes remaining on Thursday after Czechia substitute Pavel Sulc was penalised for a handball as he attempted to block a shot from Thapelo Maseko.
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Reacting after the game, Udeze, who was a guest on Sporty TV World Cup coverage, stated that he was delighted with the way the South Africans fought back to earn a draw.
“I think South Africa did very well to have drawn this game against Czechia.
“They were behind for most of the game and got a penalty to find their way back. It’s a good result for them.”
Ideye Praises South Africa’s Comeback
On the other hand, Ideye, who praised the Bafana Bafana never-say-die spirit, however, faulted the team’s inability to get the maximum three points after leveling the score via a penalty.
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“After the penalty, I expected South Africa to go all out for the three points because this game is an important game for them to win. Now they are playing against South Korea in their final game.
“Mind you, South Korea are a very disciplined team, and they’re tough to beat. So I was expecting South Africa to win this one. Anyway, big kudos to the Bafana for playing out a 1-1 draw against Czechia.”
2 Comments
High energy (H)
Commitment (C)
Desire (D)
HCD
This is what gets results in modern football.
Yes, tactics are important. Also important is the skill and technical attributes of the players. But a team with plenty of HCD is always tough to beat!
SA showed HCD today against Czechia, especially in the second half. Apart from the underhanded maneuvering of their officials, who contrived to have their away matches played at home, it must be said that whenever banana banana step on the pitch, they battle hard. They are short on quality, they don’t have stars, but dem dey put leg, put body. They hustle hard.
Look at Morocco against Brazil. Plenty of HCD. That is how Morocco play every game.
Cabo Verde showed ridiculous HCD against Spain. Chasing every ball like mad men, closing spaces, man marking Spanish players. Spain could not find a way through.
These and many examples show how important HCD is in modern football.
Lack of HCD is partially responsible for Nigeria’s absence at the mundial. Yes, NFF Onigbese demoralized the team with persistent refusal to pay bonuses, but the players should have focused on grabbing the opportunity to play on football’s biggest stage. A good performance at the world cup is life changing for a footballer, often leading to big money offers from clubs. The money a player can make from that makes match bonuses look like peanuts.
Yet, our players seem to prioritize match bonuses over the chance to play at the world cup!!!
What a waste of talent. Now, bonus dem no see, and world cup too dem no go. They lost out completely.
Since match bonus was uppermost in their minds, they played the qualifiers with little HCD, and as a result, we failed to win winnable games, and needed FIFA’s help to even make the playoff.
And against DRC, na bonus dem focus on, even going as far as boycotting training before that crucial, all important encounter!!! Now, they are all watching the world cup on the telly.
Thankfully, the Unity Cup squad showed plenty of HCD, and it made them look better than the so called Team A. That’s my frank opinion. As long as we make that Unity Cup squad the core of the team going forward, and as long as they keep showing plenty of HCD in games, the future looks bright for Naija football.
Very very correct brother