South Africa's national football team advanced to the Round of 32 in the World Cup by defeating South Korea 1-0 on Wednesday at Monterrey Stadium, Mexico, during the third and final group stage match of Group A.
South Africa owes its crucial victory to Thapelo Mashego, who scored the sole goal of the match in the 63rd minute.
With this win, Belgian coach Hugo Broos' team accumulated 4 points, securing second place behind Mexico, who triumphed 3-0 over the Czech Republic. South Korea was left in third place with 3 points, while the Czech Republic exited the competition with just one point, landing in fourth place.
Korea now awaits the results of other group matches to determine their fate and whether they can advance to the Round of 32 as one of the top eight third-place finishers.
Mexico became the first team to achieve a perfect record in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, following their 3-0 win against the Czech Republic, before the conclusion of the group stage matches.
Mexico had already secured their spot in the Round of 32 and first place in Group A. They earned their third consecutive victory thanks to goals by Mateo Chavez at the 54th minute, Julián Quiñones at the 61st minute, and Álvaro Fidalgo in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Mexico is scheduled to play on June 30 at Mexico City Stadium against one of the third-place teams from Groups C, E, F, H, or I.
Meanwhile, South Africa will face Canada in the Round of 32 in Los Angeles, three days later.