Bafana Bafana have been in this situation before, with doubts over their heads after they lost the first match of a major tournament, but attacker Thapelo Maseko says they have the experience to turn it around.
Bafana started the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Afcon in the Ivory Coast with a 2-0 loss to Mali in Korhogo, but coach Hugo Broos galvanised the team and they went on to walk away with the bronze medal.
Maseko, who was one of the younger players in the squad at that time, finds himself in a similar situation here at the 2026 Fifa World Cup and says its too early to write the South Africans off.
