South Africa booked a place in the knockout rounds of the World Cup for the first time with a deserved 1-0 Group A victory over South Korea in Monterrey on Wednesday.
Bafana finish second in their pool and will meet Canada in Los Angeles in the round of 32 as they contained South Korea superbly and got the goal they needed through Thapelo Maseko.
These are SuperSport’s player ratings for the game:
Ronwen Williams (6): Had surprisingly little to do for most of the game but made one decent save early in the second half and commanded his area well. Stopped trying to play out from the back and instead went long with his distribution with mixed results.
Khuliso Mudau (8): Made an excellent tackle tracking back in the first half and always looked to het forward when he did have the ball. Defended like a trojan in the second half.
Ime Okon (7): Looked solid at the back and grows in stature with every game. Might have expected to be worked harder but did everything asked of him.
Mbekezeli Mbokazi (7): Had little to do in the first half but provided one typically physical tackle to knock his opponent off the ball.
Aubrey Modiba (7): Put in a couple of good crosses, including one that was perfect for Evidence Makgopa, who could only steer his header wide. Defended very well too.
Thalente Mbatha (6): Had a rasping shot in the first half that was a little too close to the goalkeeper, but still needed a smart save. Worked hard in the midfield in the Teboho Mokoena role.
Yaya Sithole (7): Was mostly stationed in front of the back four as a shield and put in some good challenges. Did the job perfectly.
Relebohile Mofokeng (7): Neat and tidy and perhaps proved he is now the man to play the ‘Themba Zwane’ role into he future. Made a few errors, but his link-up play was also good and was a steadying influence on the ball. Replaced by Jayden Adams after 80 minutes.
Thapelo Maseko (8): Very lively and looked the most likely source of a goal with his trickery on the right wing. Had a good chance early in the second half but should have found a teammate and his shot was blocked. When he got another chance, he made no mistake, taking a touch and drilling the ball low into the bottom right corner of the net on 63 minutes. Replaced by Iqraam Rayners with 15 minutes to go.
Evidence Makgopa (7): Had that headed chance that went wide, and also missed from point-blank range though there was a suspicion he was offside and it might not have counted. Always gave himself as an outlet and looked to win first headers.
Oswin Appollis (6): Neat and tidy as ever, perhaps did not have the confidence to take his defender on but recycled the ball well. Replaced on 62 minutes by Tshepang Moremi.
Tshepang Moremi (6): Had little opportunity to show his attacking skills as it was all hands to the pump at the back after he came on as South Africa defended with 11 men.
Iqraam Rayners (6): Came on as more of a winger than a centre-forward as Makgopa stayed up front and did his part in defending.
Jayden Adams was not on the pitch long enough for a rating.
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