GUADALUPE, Mexico – For decades, South Africa’s men’s national football team carried the weight of unfulfilled World Cup dreams. Three previous tournament appearances – including a memorable run as hosts in 2010 – ended in elimination before the knockout stage. That long drought finally came to an end on Wednesday night, when a clinical first-half finish earned Bafana Bafana a historic 1-0 victory over South Korea and a spot in the next round of the competition.
The decisive goal came in the 63rd minute, when winger Tshepang Moremi delivered a pinpoint cross into the penalty box that found forward Thapelo Maseko, who slotted home the finish that would go down in South African football history.
With the result, South Africa secured second place in Group A, finishing behind tournament hosts Mexico, who completed a perfect group stage with three wins from three matches. The historic milestone sets up a blockbuster knockout round clash for South Africa on Sunday, when the side will face Canada – Group B’s second-place finishers – in Inglewood, California.
The road to this historic win was far from smooth for South Africa. The team opened its campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Mexico, before grabbing a late equalizer to secure a 1-1 draw with Czech Republic. Heading into the final group match, Bafana Bafana sat third in the group table, behind both Mexico and pre-match favorites South Korea, making their eventual upset of the Taegeuk Warriors all the more surprising.
For South Korea, the campaign remains in the balance for now. The side got off to a strong start, overturning a deficit to claim a 2-1 opening win over Czech Republic, before falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat to Mexico in their second group outing. While Wednesday’s loss drops them out of the current knockout qualification spots, their fate is not yet sealed: they could still advance to the knockout round depending on the outcome of other remaining group stage matches this week.
South Korea is no stranger to World Cup knockout stage success. The East Asian side made history as the first Asian team to reach the tournament’s knockout round in 2002, when it co-hosted the competition and went on to finish fourth overall. The Taegeuk Warriors have also advanced out of the group stage in 2010 and 2022, reaching the round of 16 on both occasions.
This report was contributed by Maya Koluder-Ramirez, a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.