South Africa vs. South Korea: Plenty to Lose, Very Little to Gain for the Taeguk Warriors

In partnership with

Hooligan Soccer

·24 Juni 2026

South Africa vs. South Korea: Plenty to Lose, Very Little to Gain for the Taeguk Warriors

South Korea suffered a painful 1-0 defeat to Mexico in its second Group A match, undone by a disastrous mistake from goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu and stonewalled by an inspired performance from Mexico’s goalkeeper, Raúl Rangel.

ZAPOPAN, MEXICO – JUNE 18: Luis Romo #7 of Mexico scores his team’s first goal after Seung-gyu Kim #1 of Korea Republic fails to catch the ball during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match between Mexico and Korea Republic at Guadalajara Stadium on June 18, 2026 in Zapopan, Mexico. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Video OneFootball

It’s hardly a secret that, for long stretches of the match, South Korea outplayed Mexico. In fact, had it not been for that costly blunder (and Rangel suddenly deciding he was prime Gianluigi Buffon for 90 minutes) the Asians could easily have walked away from Estadio Guadalajara with all three points.

The three points South Korea currently has, enough for second place in Group A, don’t fully reflect how well Hong Myung-bo’s side has actually played.

The opposite is true for Hugo Broos’ South Africa. Bafana Bafana sit bottom of the group with just one point, yet somehow they head into the final matchday still with a chance of advancing if they can pull off a victory at Estadio Monterrey. Soccer has a funny sense of humor.

South Africa opened its World Cup campaign with a flat 2-0 defeat to Mexico, offering little to nothing going forward. Then, after entering the match against Czechia as clear underdogs, they fought back to earn a 1-1 draw that kept their tournament alive, despite still looking like the weakest team in the group.

Can South Africa shock South Korea?

They’ll have to try without midfielder Teboho Mokoena, who is suspended due to yellow-card accumulation.

South Africa head coach Hugo Broos remains optimistic.

“I’m very proud of my team. We play good football, we’re aggressive, and we create chances. Yes, we also make mistakes, but I’m very proud of my players. We’ll have to beat the Republic of Korea, which will be very difficult as well, but if we play with the same mentality, it will be possible,” the Belgian coach said ahead of Wednesday’s showdown.

South Korea began the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Czechia before the aforementioned defeat to Mexico. But the Taeguk Warriors remain favorites to finish second in the group. A draw is enough for them to advance, even if Czechia upsets Mexico, thanks to their head-to-head advantage.

But if South Korea loses to South Africa while Czechia defeats Mexico, the Koreans would plummet all the way to fourth place and be eliminated from the World Cup. That’s quite the fall for a team that looked capable of winning the group just a few days ago.

South Africa and Czechia played to a 1-1 draw last Thursday, delaying elimination for both sides. However, each team now needs to win its final Group Stage match to have any realistic hope of advancing.

In the Round of 32, the Group A runner-up will face the second-place finisher from Group B, which features Canada, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Qatar.

Projected South Africa XI:Ronwen Williams; Aubrey Modiba, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Khuliso Mudau, Ime Okon;Sphephelo Sithole, Jayden Adams; Lyle Foster, Iqraam Rayners.

Projected South Korea XI:Kim Seung-gyu; Seol Young-woo, Kim Min-jae, Cho Yu-min, Lee Tae-seok; Paik Seung-ho, Hwang In-beom; Lee Kang-in, Lee Jae-sung, Son Heung-min; Oh Hyeon-gyu.