South Africa's forward #12 Thapelo Maseko celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group A football match between South Africa and South Korea at the Monterrey Stadium in Guadalupe, Mexico, on June 24, 2026. Picture: Julio Cesar AGUILAR / AFP
Image: Julio Cesar AGUILAR / AFP
Bafana Bafana beat South Korea 1-0 at Estadio Monterrey on Thursday to book their spot in the knockout round of the FIFA World Cup for the first time in their history.
Bafana took the lead in the 63rd minute through Thapelo Maseko.
The win took Bafana to four points to finish in second place in the group, automatically advancing to the next round. Mexico finished top of Group A, after beating Czechia 3-0 in a simultaneous fixture on Thursday.
Bafana will play in the first fixture of the round of 32, against World Cup co-hosts Canada at Los Angeles Stadium on Sunday.
In three previous appearances (1998, 2002, 2010) at the FIFA World Cup, Bafana have crashed out in the group stage, but it was different in 2026 under coach Hugo Broos.
Coming into the game, Bafana had just an 18% chance of victory. There was a 25% chance of a draw, while South Korea were clear favourites, with their chances of winning sitting at 57%.
Midfield maestro Teboho Mokoena was suspended and was forced to watch from the sidelines. Sphephelo Sithole instead was tasked with filling the void left by Mokoena, which was a significant responsibility on the young midfielder’s shoulders.
The 21-year-old Relebohile Mofokeng also made his first start of the World Cup in an attacking role, in what was the biggest game of his career so far.
Meanwhile, Son Heung-min remains South Korea’s biggest star but only came on in the second half. The winger has spent the last decade with Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League and is widely regarded as one of Asia’s finest footballers.
He was expected to pose the greatest attacking threat to Bafana.