World Cup 2026 Group A: South Africa through to the knockout phase after a nice win over South Korea

South Africa made history at the 2026 World Cup. Bafana Bafana reached the knockout stages for the first time by beating South Korea 1-0 in Group A. Thapelo Maseko became the match winner with a goal in the 63rd minute. With the win, South Africa moved from last to second place in the group and will face Canada on Sunday at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (California) in the first match of the round of 32.

The turnaround is striking. South Africa started the tournament with a 2-0 defeat against Mexico and ended that game with nine players after two red cards. A subsequent draw against the Czech Republic meant that only a win against South Korea had any chance of advancing to the knockout phase — a point was not enough.

Elsewhere in the group, Mexico completed the job with a 3-0 win over the Czech Republic, becoming the first team at this World Cup to win all three group matches. The large margin gave coach Javier Aguirre the opportunity to introduce goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the 78th minute. The 40-year-old centerpiece was selected for his sixth World Cup selection this summer, together with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and has now played minutes at four World Cup finals with his substitute appearance. Ochoa broke through as Mexico's first goalkeeper during the 2014 World Cup. The Czech Republic finished last in Group A after the defeat.

Standings Group A (W-D-V, goal difference, points): - 1. Mexico: 3-0-0, +6, 9 - 2. South Africa: 1-1-1, -1, 4 - 3. South Korea: 1-1-1, -1, 3 - 4. Czech Republic: 0-1-2, -4, 1


Results Group A: - Thursday June 11: Mexico – South Africa 2-0 - Thursday June 11: South Korea – Czech Republic 2-1 - Thursday June 18: Czech Republic – South Africa 1-1 - Thursday June 18: Mexico – South Korea 1-0 - Wednesday June 24: Mexico – Czech Republic 3-0 - Wednesday June 24: South Africa – South Korea 1-0

Next round: opponents and schedule - Mexico has already played Group A safely and will play against a number three in Mexico City on June 30. On July 5, a duel with the winner of Group L (probably England) or another number three will follow in the Estadio Azteca. - South Africa will meet Canada in Inglewood on Sunday in the round of 32. If they win, the winner of Group F or the number two of Group C will await the winner of Group F or the number two of Group C in the round of 16 on July 4 in Houston.

Third place: chances for South Korea South Korea is not without a chance as third, but the prospects are slim. The Koreans are currently ahead of Scotland on goal difference (after Scotland's 3-0 defeat to Brazil), but behind Bosnia and Herzegovina. It will be difficult if both Cape Verde and Belgium draw or win and one of the three remaining third-place teams wins its last game by one point.

Can Group A deliver the world champion? Probably not. Mexico seems capable of surprising England in the eighth finals and thus reaching the quarter-finals, but the question remains whether El Tri can also win outside Mexico. That explains why the odds for Mexican final gold are around 33-1.

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