On a historic night for South African football, Bafana Bafana advanced to the FIFA World Cup knockout stages for the very first time, securing their spot with a gritty 1-0 win over South Korea in their final Group A clash at Estadio Monterrey on Thursday.
Thapelo Maseko’s 63rd-minute strike sent Bafana through as they finished second on the table with four points. They will now face co-hosts Canada in the Round of 32 in Los Angeles on Sunday.
It was heartbreak for the Koreans, who settled for third place after a promising start, beating the Czech Republic, only to collapse and lose their other two group games against co-hosts Mexico and Bafana.
But for South Africa, it was history made at the global football showpiece under coach Hugo Broos, as they are set to play in the Last 32 for the very first time. They head into the knockout stages with heads held high, having bounced back from an opening 2-0 defeat against Mexico to draw 1-1 with the Czech Republic and ultimately sink South Korea.
It was a perfect show of character by Bafana, who went into Thursday’s match needing nothing short of victory to progress to the knockout phase, while just a point would have been enough for their Asian opponents to proceed. After ensuring maximum for the first time in this group campaign, South Africa did themselves a huge favour as they did not need to worry about what was happening between Mexico and the Czechs at Azteca Stadium. Mexico won 3-0 to maintain a 100 percent record in this pool.
BROOS STARTS MOFOKENG, APPOLLIS, THAPELO MASEKO IN BAFANA BAFANA ATTACK
Bafana coach Hugo Broos handed debut World Cup starts to the Orlando Pirates duo of Relebohile Mofokeng and Evidence Makgopa, preferring the team that finished the match against the Czech Republic. With Teboho Mokoena out suspended, Sphephelo Sithole was back from suspension and partnered Thalente Mbatha in central midfield.
Broos’ opposite number Hong Myung-bo opted to start captain Son Heung-Min from the bench while centre-back Cho Yu-Min was ruled out with a foot injury.
After a balanced start to the game, it was, however, the Koreans who appeared more dangerous in their raids, and Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder Lee Kang-In saw his effort missing the target by just a whisker seven minutes into the contest. At the opposite end, Maseko broke loose but allowed Lee Gi-Hyuk to recover to block his shot.
Mbatha’s trademark long shot had goalkeeper Kim Seung-Gyu punching the ball into the path of Makgopa, whose finishing was poor, although it showed he attempted from an offside position. Maseko then skied his effort while under the challenge of two men.
THAPELO MASEKO FINALLY GETS IT RIGHT FOR BAFANA
The halftime introduction of Son Heung-Min was expected to shake Bafana, but Broos’ men picked up from their first-half momentum, and Maseko again had a shot blocked from inside the box.
The Mamelodi Sundowns star’s persistence finally paid off in the 63rd minute when he shot into the bottom corner to give Kim Seung-Gyu no chance, with substitute Tshepang Moremi the provider. With Mexico leading the Czech Republic 2-0 at that time, destiny appeared to favour the 1996 African champions.
And as Korea pressed for an equaliser, Bafana goalkeeper Ronwen Williams made a crucial stoppage-time save to deny Jens Castrop.
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