31.5% possession, and the last edition of a 74 year old man.

31%.

South Africa gave up that much possession against South Korea. In the World Cup, teams that walk back to the dressing room with that kind of possession percentage are usually booking their flights home.

But South Africa won. 1-0. Thapelo Maseko smashed the ball into the net in the 63rd minute. South Korea had 69% of the ball but fewer shots. They strung possession along like prayer beads, then lost their shirts. An Asian team doing what they do best. South Africa, with the least possession, chewed through the toughest bone.

74-year-old Hugo Broos lives for this. Give up the ball, fight every one-on-one, wait for that one counterattack. Maseko connected with Tshepang Moremi's rapid break and struck. Goal. No pretty patterns with the Koreans. Drag the game into a mudfight. First one to blink dies.

The Belgian old man stood by the pitch in Guadalupe, watching South African football touch knockout stage grass for the first time. At 74 years and 75 days, the oldest winning manager in World Cup history. This tournament isn't short on old men—Czech manager Miroslav Koubek set the record for oldest debut manager on June 12 at 74 years and 284 days, and two days later, 78-year-old Dick Advocaat of Curaçao pushed the age ceiling even higher. But neither of them won. The old man didn't even blink. Before the game, he'd said: "I never listen to the garbage on social media. I know what went wrong against Mexico, and the players know too. The rest, I do my way."

He's been doing that for five years.

Opening match at the Estadio Azteca. Broos laid it out beforehand: "Eighty thousand Mexicans, maybe a few South Africans… Don't count on the fans." Julián Quiñones poked the ball through in the 9th minute, Raúl Jiménez added a second in the second half. 0-2. Three red cards in the whole match. South Africa got two, Mexico got one. Nine against eleven, their composure shattered first under the roar of the Azteca, and tactics never had a chance.

Four days later, they faced Czechia. Michal Sadílek struck in the 5th minute and 8 seconds. South Africa got ground into the turf for most of the match, chased for over seventy minutes, and only scraped a 1-1 draw in the 83rd minute from Teboho Mokoena's penalty.

That one point, looking back, was the oxygen tank keeping them alive.

Then came that 31% possession win in Monterrey. Three matches, four points, second in Group A. South Africa crawled out of the World Cup group stage for the first time. 1998, 2002, 2010—three failed attempts. In 2010, on home soil, Siphiwe Tshabalala's goal still lives in highlight reels, but that South Africa became the first host nation in World Cup history to crash out in the group stage.

A whole 16 years.

An even more absurd script played out before the World Cup. In March 2025, in a World Cup qualifier against Lesotho, midfielder Teboho Mokoena was sent onto the field while suspended. An administrative blunder by the football association, so boneheaded you couldn't even muster the energy to curse. In September, FIFA's ruling came down: deduct three points, award Lesotho a 3-0 win, fine 10,000 Swiss francs.

Appeal? Useless. In the end, South Africa still emerged from the group stage directly, sending Nigeria to the playoffs. Without those three points deducted none of the nail-biting until the final round would have been necessary. An office clerk nearly killed the team's five years of sweat with a single paperwork slip.

Broos took over in May 2021 and became the longest-serving manager in South African history. His team-building philosophy went against the grain of African football: heavily rely on domestic league players, don't fetishize the European brigade.

South African media cursed him for five years. Fans called him clueless. He didn't pick the popular stars from Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates, and the whole country acted like he'd committed a mortal sin. A third-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast barely shut a few mouths.

After advancing to the knockout stage, Broos faced the microphones and dropped a line: "We made those big mouths shut up."

Captain Ronwen Williams went even further: "He deserves a statue. He deserves the highest recognition because he's shown belief in this team from day one."

Williams plays for Mamelodi Sundowns. Just last month, Sundowns beat Morocco's FAR Rabat 2-1 on aggregate in the two-legged final to win the 2025-26 CAF Champions League, lifting their second-ever trophy. South African football is warming up at the grassroots, not just the national team reviving.

Having led Cameroon to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations title, Broos has seen it all. He openly questioned why South Africa hadn't dominated African football. His prescription was "mentality and professional attitude." Demanding that South African football "become more professional" was a slap across the entire South African football management system.

A 74-year-old Belgian took South Africa to a place they'd never been. Then his contract expired, and he leaves.

Los Angeles. SoFi Stadium. Tonight. The round of 32 opponent is host nation Canada.

Broos laid his cards out at the pre-match press conference: "This is probably my last World Cup." In 2025, he'd already said "the decision has been made: stop coaching after the World Cup," citing that he no longer enjoyed the day-to-day coaching duties. His contract ends in June, no renewal.

"If we can go one step further and reach the quarter-finals, I can say that would be a miracle for Bafana Bafana."

Canada is extremely athletic, physically combative. South Africa won't have a moment's peace on the pitch.

Tonight. SoFi. 74 years old. The final 90 minutes of his coaching career. Or extra time.