South Africa has progressed past the group stage at a FIFA World Cup for the first time following a 1-0 victory over South Korea at Estadio Monterrey.
Thapelo Maseko’s 63rd-minute strike proved to be the difference between the two sides, as South Africa secured second place in Group A with four points and condemned their opponents to a nervous wait in third place.
“It is difficult to explain what this feels like. It is a fantastic experience. We played really well and created chances,” South Africa coach Hugo Broos said after the match.
He added: “Tactically we did really well and Korea Republic couldn’t find the spaces that they wanted. We scored the goal and then it was 20 minutes with a very high heart rate. What we did in the last five years is amazing. When you work together for such a long time there is a connection and it is more than a relationship between coach and players, we have become friends. We just have to enjoy this.”
Meanwhile, Morocco also secured qualification for the Round of 32, beating Haiti 4-2 despite conceding an early own goal by Bono in the 10th minute.
Morocco responded well, with goals from Gessime Yassine, Ismael Saibari, Achraf Hakimi, and Soufiane Rahimi securing their qualification.
“It was a tricky game, a difficult one. We didn’t start well, but we changed our mindset and worked hard to get ourselves back into it. We managed to win thanks to the way we attacked. At half-time, the message was to stay focused on winning the second balls. We couldn’t let them grow in confidence. We’re proud of what we did, but now we need to recover well and get ourselves ready for what’s next,” Hakimi said after the match.
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