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For the first time in its history, South Africa is through to the knockout stage of the World Cup after managing to claim a 1-0 victory over South Korea.
Few would have given Bafana Bafana much of a chance after its opening day loss, but the team showed stability under head coach Hugo Broos and consistent improvement over the remaining games. Now it advances to the round of 16 after finishing second in Group A and will face Canada.
South Korea, meanwhile, was the complete opposite. It looked like a potential dark horse candidate after its opening win over the Czech Republic. Gradually the team got worse as the tournament progressed and tonight the Taegeuk Warriors deserved their loss. Coach Hong Myung-bo stunned observers by benching his captain and manager, Son Heung-min. It set the tone for what was an ugly night.
South Korea are not eliminated from the knockout stage yet, but with just three points from three games, it may not progress if the results don’t break in its favour. It will be known in the coming days.
Here are my thoughts on the game.
1. Hong Benche Son
(Photo by Julio Cesar AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)
In one of the most surprising coaching decisions in recent World Cup history, South Korea coach Myung-Bo Hong benched his team’s captain, all-time leading scorer and national icon Heung-min Son for its crucial group stage match against South Africa. With South Korea coming into this match on three points, a place in the knockouts was far from assured. South Korea would be in serious danger with a loss.
With all that at stake, Hong Son bowed. Such a move is risky for several reasons. Of course it robs a team of talent, but it also affects team morale. South Korea’s players must respond without the leadership of their captain. Additionally, players may 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 has also been blanked for South Korea in its first two World Cup matches. That said, Son has still been dangerous and at the heart of many dangerous plays for South Korea.
Son’s replacement, Hyun-Gyu Oh, was never dangerous. He had just nine touches in the first half. South Korea’s attack plan was to go into the middle and look for combinations. But after a few good looks early in the game, South Korea choked. Sometimes it was due to solid defense from South Africa and sometimes 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 game in the second half, but South Korea still seemed rattled and never in the game. Son finished with 29 touches and one shot that was blocked. He typically drifted back into midfield to try and make things happen, but nothing happened.
Hong’s eye-opening decision backfired. It’s impossible to say whether it cost the team, but South Korea clearly played far 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 sloppiness
(Photo by Alfredo Lopez/Jam Media/Getty Images)
In the first 45 minutes, the biggest takeaway was how sloppy South Korea were with the ball in midfield and in the back line. Time and again, the Taegeuk Warriors were dislodged, only to have passes intercepted or balls sent out of bounds.
In the first half, South Korea was outscored 10-4. South Africa had a 10-1 advantage at the start. What made this so surprising is how stark the contrast was from South Korea’s first two games. Even in the loss to Mexico, South Korea was cleaner with the ball and better with execution.
In the second half, Hong made a flurry of substitutions, but nothing significantly improved for the Taegeuk Warriors. The smooth passing shown in the first game and at times in the second just wasn’t there in the third game.
If South Korea’s three points do not advance to the knockouts, the team’s drastic downfall throughout this tournament will be digested and analyzed for a long time by that country’s media.
3. South Africa grew into the game
(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Of course, South Korea’s struggles were also due to South Africa playing their best football in the tournament. In the opening loss to Mexico, Bafana Bafana were outplayed and undone by fouls and red cards. In the draw against the Czech Republic, South Africa took advantage of the Czech Republic going into a defensive approach after scoring the opening goal.
In this match, South Africa just played well for very long stretches. Specifically, central midfielders Sphephelo Sithole and Thalente Mbatha were very good on both sides of the ball, winning possession, driving the ball to the forward line and switching points of attack. South Africa were dangerous in transition and clever with the ball.
It was a remarkable performance from South Africa when you consider how much the team improved over the course of those matches. This match was a continuation of that and in the second half all the chances came.
Bafana Bafana’s Belgian manager, 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 were outscored 16-3 (albeit affected by a red card early in the second half). In the second half, South Africa outscored the Czech Republic 17-14. Tonight, South Africa outshot South Korea 13-5 until the final minutes, when the Taegeuk Warriors began desperately moving players into 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 kept pressing but were never really dangerous in the final 25 minutes as they chased a goal.
4. Maseko is the hero
(Photo by Julio Cesar AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)
At just 22, Thapelo Maseko scored the biggest goal in South Africa’s national team history when striker Tshepang Moremi played a fine pass into the box for Maseko, who got the ball onto his left foot before firing a hard, low shot past Seung-Gyu Kim for the lead.
Maseko had been pushing hard for chances throughout the game, but when he was able to find a clear shot, he made the most of it.
It was a goal that South Africa deserved based on the way they played. In tournament play, the margins between success and failure are thin. It often comes down to which team has players who can make big plays. In this game and in this tournament, South Africa had the difference and that was Maseko.
