South Africa, against all expectations, pulled off a 1-0 win against South Korea in Monterrey on Wednesday, gathering all three points they needed to advance to the round of 32 at the FIFA World Cup.
Bafana will face Canada in the next round, on June 28 in Los Angeles, thanks to Thapelo Maseko’s second half strike, and the team’s renewed sense of energy and attacking flair, which had been missing against Mexico and Czechia,.
Before the match, South Africa head coach Hugo Broos answered the call from Bafana fans to start Orlando Pirates starboy Relebohile Mofokeng, which proved critical on the night (on the early hours in SA).
Mofokeng came off the bench in Bafana’s 1-1 draw against Czechia, and did not feature at all in the tournament opener against Mexico, which Bafana lost 2-0. Also handed a start was striker Evidence Makgopa, who proved a handful off the bench against Czechia too.
South Korea made the interesting call to leave superstar striker Son Heung Min on the bench, seemingly content with their passage into the round of 32, and this proved fatal.
Bafana started off as they had in the previous matches, sticking to the backfield and keeping Ronwen Williams busy with passes to the keeper.
Their first real chance came in the 7th minute, when Mofokeng found himself in the middle of the area and on the receiving end of a cross from Oswin Appollis, but his shot was deflected wide of goal.
The Koreans didn’t hang about and responded immediately, but Lee Kang In fired just wide, though Mbokazi was likely in the way had the ball gone slightly to the left.
Makgopa’s inclusion was also a revelation, as he very nearly came onto the end of a cross from Aubrey Modiba, but his glancing header went just wide of goal, as Bafana looked significantly more lively than in previous fixtures.
Bafana’s best chance came after the ‘hydration’ break in the 28th minute, when they made a superb team effort run up the field, and Maseko timed his shot beautifully… right at the goalkeeper. The rebound fell beautifully to Thalente Mbatha, who also shot it right at Kim from close range. Broos’s dismayed reaction on the sideline told the entire story.
By the time half time arrived, Bafana would have been disappointed to still be at 0-0, given their dominance across the half. But it was symptomatic of their recent struggles in front of goal, with scoring hard to come by since AFCON at the start of the year.
Credit had to go to Yaya Sithole, though. He was objectively bad against Mexico before being sent off, had to miss the Czechia match because of that red card, and took some heat from the fans. But he bounced back well, and was influential in the midfield in the absence of the suspended Teboho Mokoena.
Bafana’s efforts in the first half had an immediate impact on the South Korea bench, as they brought LAFC’s Son on after the break, having seemingly assumed he wouldn’t be needed.
The Boys were right back into it though, as Maseko had another excellent chance on the 49th minute. A looping pass from the back landed at his feet and he did well to bring it down, but his delay in taking the shot, opting to get the ball onto his dominant left foot, cost him all the space he had. Broos was furious on the sidelines, once again.
His strong left foot finally paid off in the 63rd minute, when a nifty cut back and jink fooled the Korean defenders off newly subbed in Tshepang Moremi’s pinpoint pass. It was Bafana’s first non-Penalty goal since 2010 at the World Cup, and the bench was in raptures.
A very long 20 minutes remained for Bafana fans, as Maseko was subbed off for Iqraam Rayners and South Korea pushed harder and harder. Bafana essentially parked the bus, which was risky given the time remaining.
Hearts were in mouths in the 93rd minute when Williams was called upon for his most pressing save yet, and a glancing header off a Castrop cross from Park landed right in his chest. After a quick surprised bobble he managed to save both the ball and South African tears.
