The match took place on June 25 at 10 a.m. KST at the Monterrey Stadium in Mexico. With this loss, South Korea ended the group stage with a record of one win and two losses, earning three points. Mexico secured the top spot in the group with a decisive 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic, finishing with nine points, while South Africa's win placed them second with four points (one win, one draw, one loss).
As a result, South Korea finished third in the group. Fortunately, Mexico's victory over the Czech Republic prevented South Korea from being eliminated at the bottom of the group.
South Korea's chances of advancing to the knockout stage now hang in the balance. The tournament features 48 teams, with the top two teams from each group and the eight best third-placed teams advancing to the round of 32. South Korea will need to monitor the outcomes of other groups to determine their fate.
The outlook is not promising. Before the match against South Africa, six other teams had already secured three points in their respective groups. Notably, Paraguay (Group D), Sweden (Group F), Algeria (Group J), and Croatia (Group L) all have three points with one match still to play.
If teams finish with the same points in the third-place standings, rankings will be determined by goal difference, total goals scored, and fair play points. South Korea currently has a goal difference of -1 and has scored two goals.
In the starting lineup, South Korea made notable omissions, leaving out Son Heung-min (LAFC) and Lee Jae-sung (Mainz). They missed early scoring opportunities, including a threatening header from Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) in the second minute that was blocked by a defender. In the eighth minute, Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) set up a cross from the right, which Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) nearly converted with a left-footed shot that just missed the target.
After a strong start, South Korea lost control of the match. Their defense struggled, leading to several dangerous situations. In the 19th minute, they allowed a one-on-one chance for Tafel Masheko, but goalkeeper Lee Ki-hyuk (Gangwon FC) made a crucial save to prevent a goal.
South Korea faced another scoring threat in the 30th minute when they allowed a long-range shot from Talente Mbata from the right side of the penalty area. Fortunately, goalkeeper Kim Seung-kyu (FC Tokyo) made a strong save and followed up with another stop against Evidence Makgopa's shot.
Throughout the match, South Korea struggled defensively, conceding ten shots (three on target) while failing to record a single shot on target in the first half.
Desperate for a turnaround, South Korea made three substitutions at the start of the second half, bringing on Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Tae-seok, and Baek Seung-ho for Son Heung-min, Jens Castrop (Borussia Mönchengladbach), and Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai).
However, in the 63rd minute, South Korea suffered a painful setback when Masheko scored the opening goal from the center of the penalty area.
With their hopes dwindling, South Korea substituted Oh Hyun-kyu (Beşiktaş) for tall striker Cho Kyu-sung (Midtjylland) in the 74th minute, aiming for an equalizer. Despite their efforts, they could not break through South Africa's solid defense and ultimately lost 0-1.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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