South Korea is in for a nail-biter
World Cup upset: South Africa advances to the knockout stage!
In the final match of the World Cup in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, South Africa secured its spot in the round of 16. Thapelo Maseko (63rd minute) scored the winning goal for the Bafana Bafana in a 1-0 (0-0) victory over South Korea in Monterrey early Thursday morning, securing second place for his team in Group A behind group winner Mexico. This is South Africa’s first appearance in the knockout stage in its fourth World Cup appearance.
South Korea finished third with 3 points, behind their opponent (4 points), and must now wait anxiously to see if they can secure one of the 8 spots reserved for the best third-place teams.
In front of 51,243 spectators, the favorites came out strong with two good chances for Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae, whose shot was blocked on the line (2nd minute), and PSG forward Lee Kang-in, who fired just wide of the post (8th minute). South Africa subsequently found its rhythm in the transition game and created chances of its own through Maseko (shot blocked, 19th minute) and, most notably, Evidence Makgopa, who fired a rebound from close range too centrally at South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu (30th minute).
Captain’s Substitution Proves Ineffective
At halftime, Austria winger Lee Tae-Seok left the field, replaced by captain Son Heung-min, who had been benched at the start. However, this did not improve the match; chances remained scarce on both sides for a long time. Just as Mexico was leading 2-0 in the parallel match—which would have sent the Asians to the Round of 16—Maseko crashed the South Korean party with a powerful shot. The favorite put in a valiant effort in the closing minutes but was unable to create any more good scoring opportunities.
Final Score:
South Africa – South Korea 1–0 (0–0)
, Monterrey, 51,243, Referee: Tello (ARG)
Goal: 1–0 (63.) Maseko
Yellow cards: Modiba and Cho Gue-sung
South Africa: Williams – Mudau, Okon, Mbokazi, Modiba – Sithole, Mbatha – Maseko (75' Rayners), Mofokeng (80' Rayners), Appollis (62' Moremi) – Makgopa
South Korea: Kim Seung-gyu – Lee Han-Beom, Kim Min-jae (65. Park Jin-seob), Lee Gi-hyuk – Seol Young-woo, Hwang In-beom, Paik Seung-Ho (46. Kim Jing-yu), Lee Tae-Seok (46' Castrop) – Lee Kang-in, Hwang Hee-chan (46' Son Heung-min) – Oh Hyeon-Gyu (74' Cho Gue-sung)
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