Goss: ‘We’ve Been Here Before’

Ricardo Goss is part of a group of Bafana Bafana players who know what it's like to turn things around at a major competition after losing an opening match, and that's where he will draw his inspiration from.

At the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, Bafana Bafana famously claimed the bronze medal and this feat was achieved on the back of losing their opening group match of the tournament to Mali.

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Now playing on a bigger stage at the FIFA World Cup, Bafana Bafana have to find the same spirit when they take on Czechia in their second Group A match, after going down 2-0 to co-hosts Mexico last Thursday.

Speaking to the media, the goalkeeper expressed his disappointment at the amount of criticism the squad has faced following their loss in the World Cup opener against Mexico.

"It's just disappointing that people who have been in the game and the comments that they give. It's disappointing in a way. For some, it's people you played with. You wouldn't expect people that you played with to speak so much negative stuff, but look, I think it's everyone's dream to play at the World Cup, so I think maybe they also wanted to be here. But we are a positive bunch, and you've seen that," Goss told the media in Mexico, as reported by PrimeSportsWithMahlatse.

"We've had some ups, and I keep going back to that Ivory Coast AFCON.

"We lost the first game 2-0, and we went on to get the bronze medal. I think it's something we can draw from. It's something that we can go back and look at. If we can implement that in this World Cup. Obviously, it's two different competitions and the quality is not the same, but if we can get that mentality we had going into that game (second AFCON game), I think we can get out of the group."

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Bafana are at the bottom of Group A at the moment and now need the big figures in the team to step up when it matters most. Another defeat would put Bafana Bafana in a position of having one foot out the door of the World Cup.