Next year, Bafana Bafana will take on Mexico in the opening game of the tournamenton June 11, before a clash with a European qualifier in Atlanta on June 18, and then a final Group A fixture against another opponent in Monterrey a week later.
Broos will be at the helm for what he has admitted will be his coaching swansong before retirement, going out at the very top of the game, much as he did as a centre-back for Belgium four decades ago.
When Belgium qualified for the 1986 finals in Mexico, they were also drawn with the host nation and opened their campaign in front of 110,000 spectators at the Azteca Stadium on June 3, 1986.
A 34-year-old Broos started that match, but Belgium found themselves 2–1 down at halftime after goals from Fernando Quirarte and the great Hugo Sánchez, with Erwin Vandenbergh pulling one back for the Belgians. There were no goals in the second half.
Belgium’s second fixture against Iraq was played at the Estadio Nemesio Díez in Toluca and ended in a 2–1 win thanks to goals from Enzo Scifo and a Nico Claesen penalty, although Broos did not feature in that match.
He returned to the starting line-up for the 2–2 draw with Paraguay, also in Toluca, which ensured Belgium’s progression to the knockout stages. Belgium twice took the lead in that game, only to be pegged back by the South Americans, with François Vercauteren and Daniel Veyt on the scoresheet.
Belgium advanced to the round of 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams, a minimum target Broos will be hoping to match this time around.
They then faced the Soviet Union in León in a fixture widely regarded as a World Cup classic, with Belgium eventually winning 4–3 after extra time.
Broos again began on the bench as the Soviet Union led 2–1, before Belgium forced extra time and went 4–2 ahead. The Soviets pulled one back in the 111th minute but were unable to force another equaliser. Scifo, Jan Ceulemans, Stéphane Demol and Claesen scored for Belgium.
Broos did not start the quarter-final against Spain in Puebla either, but came off the bench after 82 minutes and converted a penalty in the shoot-out as Belgium advanced 5–4 on spot-kicks following a 1–1 draw.
Ceulemans had given Belgium a first-half lead before Spain equalised five minutes from time. Broos took Belgium’s third penalty, beating legendary goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta.
That victory set up a semi-final clash with Argentina and Diego Maradona back at the Azteca Stadium. As he had against England in the quarter-finals, Maradona proved decisive, scoring twice in a 2–0 win, though without the same controversy.
Broos did not play in the semi-final or the third-place play-off in Puebla, where France beat Belgium 4–2 after extra time, leaving Belgium with a highly creditable fourth-place finish, a result Bafana Bafana would gladly accept.
"In that semifinal we played against two opponents, we had the Argentinian team and then we had Maradona. We lost that semifinal, and I can even say that we lost against Maradona that day. He was fantastic," Broos said.
"You know, those kind of players you can't mark. they will do what they want because they are so good . You just have to try your best to stop them, but more often than not, it ends very badly for you."
In total, Broos played 218 minutes at the tournament, making two starts and one substitute appearance, before retiring from international football.
When he leads Bafana Bafana to Mexico in 2026, Broos will hope their journey extends into the knockout rounds in the United States and does not end once again in Central America, as it did 40 years ago.