Bafana Bafana Breaks Through: 4 Takeaways From South Africa vs. South Korea

For the first time in its history, South Africa is through to the knockout stage of the World Cup after it pulled off a 1-0 upset win over South Korea.

Few would have given Bafana Bafana much of a chance after its opening-day loss, but the team showed steady under head coach Hugo Broos and consistent improvement over its remaining games. Now it is off to the round of 32 after a second-place finish in Group A and will be taking on Canada.

South Korea, meanwhile, was the exact opposite. It looked like a potential dark horse candidate after its opening win over Czechia. 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 its captain and leader, Son Heung-min. That set the tone for what was an ugly night.

South Korea is not eliminated from knockout stage contention just yet, but with just three points from three games, it might not advance if results do not break in its favor. That will be known in the coming days.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

1. Hong Benches Son

In one of the most surprising coaching decisions in recent World Cup history, South Korea coach Myung-Bo Hong put his team’s captain, all-time leading scorer, and national icon Heung-min Son on the bench for its decisive group stage game against South Africa. With South Korea coming into this game on three points, a spot in the knockouts was far from assured. South Korea would be in grave danger with a loss.

With all that at stake, Hong benched Son. Such a move is risky for several reasons. Sure, it deprives a team of talent, but it also affects team morale. South Korea players must respond without the leadership of their captain. Plus, the players might begin to question the decision-making of their coach.

Son has not been having the best year in 2026. He has not scored for Los Angeles FC in 13 regular-season league games. He has also come up empty for South Korea in its first two World Cup games. That being 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 only had nine touches in the first half. South Korea’s attack plan was to go to the middle and look for combinations. But after a few good looks early in the game, South Korea was stifled. Sometimes that 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 that was due to Hong’s decision.

Son came into the game in the second half, but South Korea still seemed rattled and never into the game. Son finished with 29 touches and one shot, which was blocked. He typically drifted back into the midfield to try to make things happen, but nothing happened.

Hong’s eye-opening decision backfired. It is impossible to say if it cost the team, but South Korea was clearly playing far below the sum of its parts. Not having Son early in the game to help lead the team might have been costly.

2. South Korea’s Sloppiness

In the first 45 minutes, the biggest takeaway was how sloppy South Korea was with the ball in the midfield and in the backline. Time after time, the Taegeuk Warriors were dispossessed, saw passes get intercepted, or sent balls out of bounds.

In the first half, South Korea was outshot 10-4. South Africa had a 10-1 edge in inceptions. What made this so surprising is just how stark a contrast that 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 wave of substitutions, but nothing significantly improved for the Taegeuk Warriors. The smooth passing displayed in the first game and at times in the second game was just not there in the third game.

If South Korea’s three points fail to 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

Of course, South Korea’s struggles were also due to South Africa playing its best soccer of the tournament. In the opening loss to Mexico, Bafana Bafana was outplayed and undone by mistakes and red cards. In the draw with Czechia, South Africa took advantage of Czechia going into a defensive approach after scoring the opening goal.

In this game, 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 in winning possession, driving the ball to the front line, and switching the points of attack. South Africa was dangerous in transition and smart with the ball.

It was a remarkable performance from South Africa when you consider how much the team improved over these games. This game was a continuation of that, and in the second half, all the chances were coming its way.

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 game against Mexico, South Africa was outshot 16-3 (albeit affected by a red card early in the second half). In the second half, South Africa outshot Czechia 17-14. Tonight, South Africa was outshooting South Korea 13-5 until the final minutes when the Taegeuk Warriors began to desperately move players into the attack.

In the final minutes, Broos saw his team defend admirably as the players stayed committed to their assignments and the team’s shape. South Korea kept pushing, but was never really dangerous over the final 25 minutes as it chased a goal.  

4. Maseko Is The Hero

At just 22 years old, Thapelo Maseko scored the biggest goal in the history of South Africa’s national team when attacker Tshepang Moremi hit a great pass into the box for Maseko, who got the ball onto his left foot before hitting a hard, low shot past Seung-Gyu Kim for a lead.

Maseko had been pushing hard for chances throughout the game, but once 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 it 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 at this tournament, South Africa had the difference-maker, and it was Maseko.