The South African national team surprised everyone by defeating South Korea 1-0 in the third and final match of Group 1, qualifying for the “32” of the 2026 World Cup, as they took second place, behind Mexico.
The first half was “poor” in notable phases, as neither team took much risk, mainly taking care of the defensive function. However, the South Africans, with a much better performance compared to the previous matches, tried to reach the goal and had some good attempts, however, whenever needed, Seung Yu intervened decisively.
For their part, the South Koreans, given that with the draw they secured second place and direct qualification to the “32”, were more concerned with protecting their home team than creating dangerous situations in Williams’ frame.
Apparently dissatisfied with his team’s performance, Hong Myung-bo “dropped” Heung-min Son into the game (46`), while making two more changes to the starting lineup. However, the first notable phase of the second half belonged to the Africans, but Maseko and Mbata (51`) with consecutive shots, failed to score.
Finally, the goal for the typical home team of the match came in the 63rd minute, when, after inertia in the Asian defense, Masesco found himself in an advantageous position and scored ideally to give the South African team the lead.
The South Koreans tried to reach a goal that would have meant qualifying for the “32”, but they did not succeed and will have to wait for the results in other groups to find out if they will continue (ed. they have a good chance with three points) in the top football competition.
Referee: F. Teyo (Argentina)
Yellows: Modiba – Sung Cho
Reds:
Lineups:
SOUTH AFRICA (Hugo Bros): Williams, Mundo, Okon, Ebokazi, Modiba, Sithole, Batha, Maseko (74` Rayners), Mofokeng (80` Adams), Apolis (62` Moremi), Makgopa.
SOUTH KOREA (Hong Myung-Bo): Seung-Yoo, Beom-Lee, Min-Jae (65` Park), Hyuk-Lee, Seol, Paik (46` Kim Yin-Gyu), Hwang, Tae-Seok Lee (46` Castrop), Kang In-Lee, Hee-Chan (46` Heung Min-Son), Hyeon-Ju Oh (74` Sung Cho).