South Africa stun South Korea to reach World Cup knockouts for the first time

Bafana Bafana, playing in the tournament for the first time since they hosted it in 2010, have reached the round of 32.South Africa beat South Korea 1-0 to reach the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time in their history, an astonishing turnaround after a dismal opening defeat.Bafana Bafana, playing at the tournament for the first time since South Africa hosted it in 2010, were widely written off after their 2-0 loss to Group A winners Mexico.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4World Cup: Top 10 takeaways from the second round of the group stagelist 2 of 4Is the World Cup 2026 Golden Boot race the best ever?list 3 of 4World Cup 2026: Full group schedule and top third-round matches to watchlist 4 of 4Mehdi Taremi, assistant coach, held up at airport by US officials, Iran saysend of listBut they battled to a draw against the Czech Republic and came out on top of what was effectively a shootout with South Korea for second place in Monterrey, thanks to Thapelo Maseko’s second-half strike.South Korea coach Myung-Bo Hong made a shock call by leaving captain Son Heungmin – considered by many to be Asia’s greatest-ever player – out of the starting lineup.The Asian team started strongly, with stand-in captain Kim Minjae’s powerful header blocked on the goal line by Aubrey Modiba, before Lee Kangin flashed wide.South Africa quickly settled, playing with hunger and adventure, but their finishing was wasteful.They seemed certain to take the lead in the 30th minute when the ball fell to Evidence Makgopa after South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seunggyu parried Thalente Mbatha’s shot.But Makgopa could only tamely poke the ball straight at the goalkeeper from close range.Son came on at the start of the second half, one of three changes made by coach Hong as he sought to change the script.Early in the second period, Maseko squandered another good position, while South Korea forward Oh Hyeongyu tested goalkeeper Ronwen Williams at the other end.As news filtered through from Mexico City that the host nation were leading against the Czech Republic, there was an added sense of urgency.