South Africa Advances with Shock Win

South Africa national team reached the round of 32 for the first time in their history with a shock 1-0 win over South Korea. Thapelo Maseko scored the only goal of the game on the hour mark.

What happened?

The match saw South Korea's Min-Jae Kim come close to scoring after just two minutes, but his header was cleared off the line by Aubrey Maphosa Modiba.

South Africa’s first chance came when Maseko shifted the ball onto his left foot before seeing his shot superbly blocked inside the penalty area.

Key moments

A superb double save from Seung-Gyu Kim followed, who denied both Thelente Mbatha and Evidence Makpoga to keep the sides level after half an hour.

What comes next?

South Africa will face Canada in the round of 32 in Los Angeles.

The team's recent form has been inconsistent, with 2 wins, 0 draws, and 3 losses in their last 5 games.

Their last result was a 1-2 loss to Cameroon on 2026-01-04.

South Africa is currently 5 points behind leaders Mexico in the title race.