South Africa 1 – 0 Korea Rep

South Africa reached the knockout rounds of the World Cup for the first time in their history after beating South Korea 1-0 to finish second in Group A.

Thapelo Maseko scored a deserved winner in the 63rd minute to set up a tie with Canada in the round of 32 on Sunday as their remarkable revival under manager Hugo Bruce continued.

Heung-min Son’s difficult tournament continued as he was benched for the first time in 13 World Cup games by South Korea boss Myung-bo Hong, whose side failed to start their win over the Czech Republic and now face a nervous wait to see if they qualify as one of the best third-placed sides.

South Korea didn’t hold their 68 percent in Guadalupe, lacking a cutting edge as South Africa had more shots and recorded a higher xG en route to a famous victory.

Key moments from Guadalupe…

• 2: Off the line! Min-Jae Kim attacked a corner at the near post and sent a powerful header past South African defender Aubrey Modiba on the line.

• 8: Just spacious! Kang-in Lee fired a shot from inside the area that went past the South African right post.

• 30: Double save! Seung-Gyu parried Kim Mbatha’s powerful effort and Makgopa slotted the follow-up straight at the goalkeeper.

• 46: Triple change! Heung-min Son came on at half-time as part of three subs as South Korea went down to four.

• 63: Goal! Thapelo Maseko finished brilliantly from inside the area to send South Africa to second place in Group A.

Boy struggling to shine

Sky Sports’ David Richardson:

Heung-min Son’s World Cup is yet to ignite.

The South Korean talisman, 33, has endured a difficult start to what could be his fourth and final tournament, but like many of the game’s biggest stars, he has had his moment.

Son was replaced by Heon-gyu in the 69th minute of their opening match, who scored the winner, and then lasted just 57 minutes during their loss to Mexico.

In both of those games he was least touched by South Korea’s starters and manager Myung-bo Hong made the bold, yet increasingly understandable, decision to bench him against South Africa, ending a run of 12 consecutive World Cup starts.

Introduced at half-time, Son was more involved, registering 29 touches, but only one came in the penalty area. Once able to terrorize defenders with his explosive pace from the wing, the 33-year-old’s influence has waned due to age and has often suffocated when deployed in the middle.

With no World Cup goals since 2018, Son will hope that South Korea still have a defining moment in store if they reach the knockout stages.

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