South Africa has never been to this stage of a World Cup before.
They stunned South Korea to advance to the Round of 32, and Bafana Bafana will take on Canada on Sunday.
Every step from here would be more potential history for South Africa.
And along the way, they’re commonly referred to by that nickname, Bafana Bafana.
It’s actually pretty simple, but linguistically, it’s a pretty cool identity.
What is Bafana Bafana?
Bafana Bafana is a nickname for the South African men’s national team.
It’s actually from the Zulu language.
The translation: “Young men.”
It’s a very strong identify for this sporting group. Even their official social media accounts use the nomenclature:
🚨 MATCH DAY!! 🚨
⚽️ Bafana Bafana 🇿🇦 vs Canada 🇨🇦
📅 Sunday, 28 June 2026
🏟️ Los Angeles Stadium
🕕 Kick-off: 21:00pm SA Time
🖥 SABC 1/3 & SABC+#Fifaworldcup #BafanaPride #BafanaBafana pic.twitter.com/6JIbJIHBHv— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) June 28, 2026
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Many of the world’s national teams have nicknames like these, in their native language, that become a full-on identity.
South Africa rarely gets to show such an identity on such a stage. The 2010 World Cup hosts were in the spotlight then, and now they have a new spotlight.
The only World Cup match on Sunday is South Africa against Canada.
Bafana Bafana will be hoping to make more history.