By MAYA KOLUDER-RAMIREZ Associated Press
GUADALUPE, Mexico (AP) — South Africa advanced to the knockout phase of the World Cup for the first time with a 1-0 victory over South Korea on Wednesday night.
Thapelo Maseko scored in the 63rd minute off a precise cross from Tshepang Moremi and South Africa finished in second place in Group A behind Mexico, which won all three of its group-stage games.
South Africa will take on Canada, the second-place finisher in Group B, in a knockout game Sunday at Inglewood, California.
Maseko had five total shots in the match and leads South Africa with eight shots in the tournament.
When Maseko was asked what he would tell his younger self about his accomplishment, the Mamelodi Sundowns forward said: “The one thing I would say is ‘keep dreaming.'”
South Africa had opened its World Cup with a 2-0 loss to Mexico before using a late goal to earn a 1-1 draw with Czech Republic. It entered its final group-stage needing to defeat South Korea in order to advance. Bafana Bafana had failed to advance from the group stage in 1998, 2002 and as host in 2010.
South Africa head coach Hugo Broos described the faith he had in his team despite the difficult start to the tournament.
“The mentality in this group is amazing,” Broos said. “Everybody is working for everybody. We are not afraid of other teams.”
Sphephelo Sithole, who received a red card in the opening game against Mexico, also earned a start and helped South Africa keep a clean sheet.
“In the first two, three days, it wasn’t easy,” Sithole said. “I needed to pick myself up. I’m very proud of myself because I did.”
Maseko, who plays for South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, missed two big chances early in the match before scoring the winner.
The 22-year-old received the ball from a cross on the right side of the box — cut inside — and struck the ball low with his left foot through a defender’s legs and into the bottom corner.
South Africa’s bench players ran across the sideline to celebrate with Maseko for his first World Cup goal.
When the final whistle was blown, the bench stormed the field and the players embraced each other.
“(The final whistle) for me was a rush of emotions not only because we won the game, but also because it will probably be one of the last games of my career,” the 74-year-old Broos said. “When you can end a career in this way, I think every coach dreams of it.”
South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo raised some eyebrows when he decided not to start Son Heung-min, and instead bring him in as a substitute. He said that he preferred to bring Son onto the field when the South African defenders were lower on energy.
“If I knew the result beforehand, I probably would have made some different choices.” Hong said. “On the world stage like this, the responsibility is ultimately down to the head coach.”
South Korea opened this World Cup with a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Czech Republic and lost to Mexico 1-0 in its second game. The Taegeuk Warriors could still advance in the tournament, pending the results of other games this week.
South Korea became the first Asian team to reach the knockout round in 2002, when it finished fourth overall. The Taegeuk Warriors also advanced out of the group stage in 2010 and 2022, both times reaching the round of 16.
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Maya Koluder-Ramirez is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup