10 mind-blowing facts from the last time Bafana qualified for a Fifa World Cup
Here are 10 astonishing facts from the last time Bafana Bafana qualified for the Fifa World Cup in 2002, highlighting how much the world has changed since then. Picture: Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP
Image: Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP
It’s been nearly 24 years since Bafana Bafana last qualified for a Fifa World Cup, and the world is a radically different place since then.
South Africa gained automatic entry into the 2010 World Cup as hosts, so it has been almost exactly 24 years since Bafana wrapped up their qualification for the 2002 event in November 2001.
It’s been so long since Bafana qualified, in fact, that many players in the current squad were infants or perhaps not even born when the country last managed the feat.
Here are 10 incredible facts from the last time Bafana qualified for the World Cup.
1 . Erling Haaland learning to walk
The scintillating striker for Manchester City in the Premier League was just learning to walk when Bafana last qualified, as Erling Haaland was born in July 2000.
2. Billie Eilish wasn’t even born
One of the most popular singers in the world today, Billie Eilish, wasn’t born yet. The ‘Bad Guy’ singer was born in December 2001.
3. 9/11 had just happened two months prior
The biggest terrorism act to ever occur in the USA had happened just two months prior, as the nation was still reeling while President George Bush waged ‘war on terror’ as a result.
4. iPhone didn’t exist
The most popular phone in the world was years away from being released. The first iPhone only came out in 2007, as most cell phone users had Nokia cell phones back in 2001.
5. Uber was almost a decade away
The e-hailing service Uber was not even close to being available to the public as it was first introduced in 2009.
6. Millie Bobby Brown wasn’t around
The big star of the Netflix series Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown was only born two and a bit years later in February 2004.
7. Coco Gauff not even born yet
The two-time Grand Slam tennis champion from the USA, Coco Gauff, was not born yet as she came into the world in March 2004.
8. Carlos Alcaraz
The current men’s tennis world number one, Carlos Alcaraz, was also not born yet as his parents celebrated his birth in May 2003.
9. No one on Facebook has ever posted that Bafana qualified for the World Cup
Since Facebook was only started in 2004, no person until now has ever posted about Bafana qualifying for the World Cup.
10. Gmail was three years away
The most popular email service, Gmail, globally was still three years away from its first release.