Thapelo Maseko’s 63rd-minute strike crashed into the bottom corner in Monterrey, and with it South Africa crashed into the World Cup knockout phase for the first time in their history. The 1-0 victory over South Korea sparked jubilant scenes on Wednesday, as a nation that had failed to advance from the group stage in 1998, 2002 and 2010 finally broke through. Bafana Bafana will now face co-hosts Canada in Los Angeles on 28 June.
For South Korea, the defeat left their hopes clinging by a thread. They still have a chance of advancing as one of the eight best third-placed teams, but the mood in the dressing room was raw. Captain Son Heung-min, surprisingly benched for the first time since his international debut 16 years ago, issued a heartfelt apology. “It’s so frustrating that the match didn’t go the way we wanted it to, and we as players are obviously very disappointed,” said the 33-year-old LAFC star, who came on at half-time but could not turn the tide. “I feel sorry to my teammates that I didn’t give them much help on the pitch.”
“Thapelo Maseko's 63rd-minute goal gives South Africa first World Cup knockout berth, beating South Korea 1-0.”
South Korea needed only a draw, having beaten Czechia 2-1 and lost 1-0 to Mexico, but head coach Hong Myung-bo’s gamble to leave Son out backfired. “If we knew what the result was going to be, I probably would have made different choices,” Hong admitted. “The result is really the responsibility of the head coach. Ultimately, it comes down to my hands, I guess I made the wrong decisions and that was the reason we had a bad result. Nothing more, nothing less.”
The match itself saw South Korea start brightly, with Kim Min-jae’s header cleared off the line by Aubrey Modiba after two minutes and Lee Kang-in firing over soon after. But South Africa grew into the contest. Maseko raced on to a through ball in the 19th minute only for Lee Ki-hyuk to produce a superb last-ditch tackle. Goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu then made an excellent double save, first denying Thalente Mbatha before smothering Evidence Makgopa’s follow-up.
After soaking up the pressure, even with Son on the pitch, South Africa deservedly found the breakthrough. Tshepang Moremi slipped a precise pass into Maseko, who shifted the ball on to his preferred left foot before drilling a low finish into the bottom right-hand corner. “It was a fantastic experience,” South Africa coach Hugo Broos said. “It was so tough today, but it was a good game. I think tactically we were very good and it was difficult for South Korea to find space. We scored, then there were 20 minutes of heart-stopping moments. It’s historical, and I’m very happy for the guys. I’ve been working with them for five years.”
South Africa finished on four points behind Group A winners Mexico, who beat Czechia 3-0. For South Korea, a place in the last 32 now depends on results elsewhere.