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For the first time in their history, South Africa have reached the knockout stage of the World Cup after achieving a surprising 1-0 victory over South Korea.
Few would have given Bafana Bafana much of a chance after their opening day defeat, but the team showed stability under coach Hugo Broos and steady improvement in the remaining matches. They now advance to the round of 32 after finishing second in Group A and will face Canada.
Meanwhile, South Korea was the exact opposite. He looked like a potential underdog candidate after their initial victory over Czechia. Little by little, the team got worse as the tournament progressed and tonight, the Taegeuk Warriors deserved their defeat. Coach Hong Myung-bo surprised observers by benching his captain and leader, Son Heung-min. That set the tone for what was an ugly night.
South Korea is not yet eliminated from the knockout phase, but with only three points from three games, it could not advance if the results do not favor it. That will be known in the coming days.
Here are my thoughts on the game.
1. Son of Hong Benches
(Photo by Julio César AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)
In one of the most surprising coaching decisions in recent World Cup history, South Korea coach Myung-Bo Hong put his team captain, all-time leading scorer and national icon Heung-min Son on the bench for the decisive group stage match against South Africa. With South Korea coming into this game with three points, a place in the round of 16 was far from assured. South Korea would be in grave danger if it lost.
With all that at stake, Hong benched Son. This measure is risky for several reasons. Sure, it deprives a team of talent, but it also affects team morale. South Korea’s players must respond without the leadership of their captain. Additionally, players might begin to question their coach’s decision making.
Son has not had the best year in 2026. He has not scored for Los Angeles FC in 13 regular season league games. He also came up empty with South Korea in his first two World Cup matches. That said, Son is still dangerous and is at the center of many dangerous plays for South Korea.
Son’s replacement, Hyun-Gyu Oh, was never dangerous. He only had nine touches in the first half. South Korea’s attack plan was to go to the middle and look for combinations. But after some good looks early in the game, South Korea was stifled. Sometimes that was due to solid South Africa defense and other times due to sloppy execution. The first half played like a team that was not in a good place, and most of it was due to Hong’s decision.
Son entered the match in the second half, but South Korea still seemed nervous and never entered the match. Son finished with 29 touches and one shot, which was blocked. He usually went back to midfield to try to make things happen, but nothing happened.
Hong’s revealing decision backfired. It’s impossible to say if it cost the team, but South Korea was clearly playing well below the sum of its parts. Not having Son early in the game to help lead the team could have been costly.
2. South Korea’s neglect
(Photo by Alfredo López/Jam Media/Getty Images)
In the first 45 minutes, the most important thing was how careless South Korea was with the ball in the midfield and on the back line. Time and time again, the Taegeuk Warriors were dispossessed, saw passes intercepted or sent balls out of bounds.
In the first half, South Korea was outshot 10-4. South Africa had an early 10-1 lead. What made this so surprising is the stark contrast to South Korea’s first two games. Even in the loss to Mexico, South Korea was cleaner on the ball and better at executing.
In the second half, Hong made a series of changes, but nothing significantly improved for the Taegeuk Warriors. The fluid passing shown in the first game and sometimes the second was simply not present in the third game.
If South Korea’s three points fail to advance to the round of 16, the team’s drastic decline throughout this tournament will be digested and analyzed for a long time by the media in that country.
3. South Africa came into play
(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Of course, South Korea’s problems were also due to South Africa playing its best football of the tournament. In the opening defeat to Mexico, Bafana Bafana were outplayed and defeated by errors and red cards. In the draw with Czechia, South Africa took advantage of Czechia adopting a defensive strategy after scoring the first goal.
In this match, South Africa played well for very long periods. Specifically, central midfielders Sphephelo Sithole and Thalente Mbatha were very good on both sides of the ball in winning possession, driving the ball towards the front line and changing points of attack. South Africa were dangerous in transition and intelligent with the ball.
It was a remarkable performance from South Africa considering how much the team improved in these matches. This match was a continuation of that, and in the second half, all the opportunities came.
Belgian Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos deserves a lot of credit for this. He made tactical adjustments and improved the team’s defensive organization. In the match against Mexico, South Africa was outshot 16-3 (although hit by a red card early in the second half). In the second half, South Africa outscored Czechia 17-14. Tonight, South Africa was outshooting South Korea 13-5 until the final minutes when the Taegeuk Warriors began desperately moving players into the attack.
In the final minutes, Broos saw his team defend admirably as the players remained committed to their tasks and the team’s form. South Korea continued to press, but were never really dangerous in the final 25 minutes as they chased a goal.
4. Maseko is the hero
(Photo by Julio César AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)
At just 22 years old, Thapelo Maseko scored the biggest goal in the history of the South African national team when striker Tshepang Moremi made a great pass into the box for Maseko, who slotted the ball onto his left foot before hitting a low, hard shot past Seung-Gyu Kim to take the lead.
Maseko had been looking for opportunities throughout the match, but once he was able to find a clear shot, he made the most of it.
It was a goal that South Africa deserved because of the way they played. In tournaments, the margins between success and failure are narrow. It often comes down to which team has players who can make big plays. In this match and in this tournament, South Africa was the one who made the difference, and it was Maseko.
