South Africa are basking in the glory of their first ever qualification for the World Cup knockout rounds, but the impact of a win against Canada on Sunday in Los Angeles could be felt long past the high of this tournament.
The country has struggled in recent years to export its best talent to the top overseas leagues. None of the players in their squad are currently in any of the world's top five leagues (Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A or Ligue 1).
Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam have been the best renowned major European side in terms of their utilisation of South African talent since their return to international football in 1992 following the apartheid-era sporting boycott.
When Ajax withdrew from their partnership with the club now once again known as Cape Town Spurs (then Ajax Cape Town) in 2020, one of the factors they cited was a lack of confidence in the South African market to produce the types of players they needed.
Granted, there was more grey to the truth of what happened behind the scenes than a simple loss of belief in the South African football system. Ajax had a 51% stake in their Cape Town-based namesakes, but did not have complete control over everything that occurred on the ground, with tensions occasionally flaring between the Dutch club and their South African-based partners.
However, the fact remains that since Ajax pulled out of South Africa, the country has been lacking the sort of formal structure through which to export players that Ghana possesses in the form of Right to Dream Academy - which has been responsible for the development of the likes of Caleb Yirenkyi, Mohammed Kudus, Ernest Nuamah, and Kamaldeen Sulemana among others.
The flip side of that coin is that the South African Premiership, which has long been one of Africa's most professional leagues, is thriving.
While clubs near the bottom of the table come and go often amid governance and sustainability struggles, the top three - Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs - have arguably never been as strong collectively as they are now.
The 2025-26 season saw Pirates win their first league title in 14 years and Sundowns become the first South African team to win a second CAF Champions League title. Chiefs are rebuilding after years in the wilderness and clinched a first top three league finish since 2019-20.
If Thapelo Maseko (who ended the season on loan at Cyprus' AEL Limassol from Mamelodi Sundowns) is counted as an overseas-based player, there are seven in total in the 26-man Bafana squad. The vast majority, 19, play their club football locally.
Mamelodi Sundowns' respectable showing at last year's FIFA Club World Cup led to unprecedented levels of interest in their players from abroad, and that was without even reaching the knockout stages.
Lucas Ribeiro was prized away by Spain's Cultural Leonesa, who he has since departed. Sundowns managed to hold onto the likes of Teboho Mokoena, Khuliso Mudau and Kutlwano Letlhaku, who were all heavily linked with interest from other countries.
RB Leipzig visited South Africa in May and played a friendly against Sundowns, which the South African side won. In the build-up to the visit, general manager Johann Plenge revealed that Red Bull Soccer technical director Mario Gomez had identified South Africa as a somewhat untapped hotbed of talent.
"He's not only talking about the amazing time he had in SA during the World Cup in 2010, but he's also talking about the amazing potential he's seeing in scouting SA. He's convinced that there's talent. It might take some time, but it's on our shortlist," Plenge told media, including ESPN, in March.
"I mean, we have spoken about young Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig and Ivory Coast star). I am sure there's a young Diomande in SA, and if we are the lucky ones to find him, then we've done a good job."
Sundowns' success has turned heads following a valiant group stage exit at the Club World Cup, and there are South African players being sold from other clubs to the international market without even playing on the same stage - such as Mohau Nkota (Al-Ettifaq), Ime Okon (Hannover 96), Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Puso Dithejane (both Chicago Fire).
It is thus reasonable to believe that a deep World Cup run could put South Africa on the map to an extent the current generation of players has never seen in their careers.
It could also go some way towards steadying the finances of the South African Football Association (SAFA) and attracting interest from potential sponsors.
A 1-0 win on Wednesday over a South Korea side featuring global stars such as Son Heung-min (LAFC), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) and Lee Kang-In (Paris Saint-Germain) was a major statement from South Africa.
A repeat victory and dominant performance against Canada in Los Angeles on Sunday should be viewed as a possibility - particularly with Alphonso Davies battling his way back from injury and Ismaël Koné out for the rest of the tournament.
If Hugo Broos' side can pull off another win against the odds, then their last victory cannot be written off as a fluke by even their biggest critics. The ramifications in South African football at every level are likely to be seismic, perhaps for decades to come.
