South African national team coach Hugo Broos said that he was disappointed after his team was eliminated in the round of 32 of the World Cup, but was still proud of them for making it through to the knockout stage for the first time.
South Africa's historic run ended with a 1-0 defeat to Canada at Los Angeles Stadium after midfielder Stephen Eustaquio scored the winner in stoppage time.
"It was a tough match, but I knew it because I had analyzed the opponent. They have power and speed. We hoped to find a way to deal with them, but that's not always the case," Broos said in a post-match press conference.
Broos, at 74 years and 79 days old, became the oldest coach to lead a team in a FIFA World Cup knockout match.
"You could see some situations in the match where we weren't able to keep up, and in the one-on-one duels, we sometimes lost, or almost always lost. We have to improve the power and speed in South Africa," he said.
"I have no complaints about the mentality, but I think we can look back on this tournament with joy because we made it to the round of 32." I don't think anyone expected that before the tournament started."
South Africa recovered from a 2-0 defeat in their opening match against hosts Mexico, then drew 1-1 with the Czech Republic before beating South Korea 1-0, finishing as runners-up in Group A and qualifying for the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time.
"It hurts now because we wanted to win today. It's a disappointing loss, and the atmosphere in the dressing room is very quiet now," Broos said.
"But on the other hand, we have to be honest. We did very well in our first World Cup in 16 years. We made it to the round of 32."
