* Bafana Bafana beat South Korea 1-0 while Morocco came from behind twice to shrug off Haiti 4-2
* The remaining African teams still in contention for the knockouts are Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal
Maravi Express
South Africa beat South Korea 1-0 while Morocco came from behind twice to shrug off Haiti 4-2 for both to qualify for the Round of 32 of the FIFA World Cup™ 2026.
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A second-half strike from Thapelo Maseko proved decisive as Hugo Broos’ side produced a spirited performance to advance to the knockout stages of the global showpiece for the first time in the nation’s history.
Knowing that only victory would keep their hopes alive, Bafana Bafana rose to the occasion against a South Korean that only needed a draw to progress.
The teams went into the interval level at 0-0 with qualification still hanging in the balance and the breakthrough arrived in the 63rd minute thanks to a moment of brilliance in attack.
Substitute Tshepang Moremi made an immediate impact after coming off the bench, delivering a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Maseko.
The winger shifted onto his left foot before calmly firing into the bottom corner to send the South Africans into celebration.
The goal transformed the Group A standings and placed South Africa on course for qualification, while South Korea suddenly found themselves needing a response.
Led by captain Ronwen Williams and marshalled superbly by Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Bafana Bafana frustrated wave after wave of South Korean attacks.
South Korea dominated possession but struggled to create clear opportunities, with South Africa producing a defensive masterclass during the closing stages.
After six tense minutes of added time, the final whistle confirmed a famous victory and sparked scenes of jubilation among the South African players and supporters.
Their Group A, co-hosts Mexico, who beat Bafana 2-0 in the opening match, beat Czech Republic 3-0 to record a 100% winning.
They qualified for the knockouts after beating South Korea 1-0 in the second match while the Koreans managed beat Czechia 2-1. The Czechs also beat Bafana 2-1.
Mateo Chavez and Julian Quinones scored goals in the span of six minutes early in the second half. The 22-year-old Chavez, in his first World Cup, opened the scoring in the 55th minute, and Quinones scored his second goal of the tournament in the 61st with Alvaro Fidalgo adding a goal in second-half stoppage time.
Mexico’s previous best group-stage performance was two wins and one draw, achieved in 1986 and 2002, both featuring Javier Aguirre, the first as a midfielder and the second as El Tri’s coach.
Morocco endured a difficult first half in Atlanta, falling behind twice before showing character, quality and depth after the break to finish the group stage unbeaten.
Achraf Hakimi and Ismail Saibari scored before half-time to cancel out Haiti’s two goals, before substitutes Soufiane Rahimi and Yassine Jassim struck in the second half to complete the comeback.
The victory took the Atlas Lions to seven points in Group C, level with Brazil but behind the South Americans on goal difference.
That means Morocco finished second in the group and will now prepare for a knockout tie against the winners of Group F, with the Netherlands the likely opponents if they maintain top spot.
For African football, it was another major moment at the tournament as Morocco, semi-finalists in 2022, again showed the resilience and tournament maturity that have made them one of the continent’s strongest teams.
Other teams that have reached the Round of 32 include co-hosts USA in Group D, who followed Mexico thanks to their 2-0 win over Australia that sent them on top of Group D after beating Paraguay 4-1 in their first match.
Germany became the third team to enter the last 32 with a 2-1 winning over Côte d’Ivoire in Group E. The Germans – who failed to get out of the group stage both at Russia 2018 and four years ago in Qatar – started their tournament with 7-1 thrashing of Curacao.
In Group J, Argentina sealed their ticket to the knockouts with a 2-0 victory over Austria as Lionel Messi scored twice, becoming the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 18 goals.
The Argentina captain also bagged his maiden tournament hat-trick in their 3-0 opening game win over Algeria and the reigning champions Argentina are guaranteed the top spot in Group J.
Pre-tournament favourites France secured the knockout place from Group I with a 3-0 win over Iraq as Kylian Mbappe scored a brace. The 2018 world champions beat Senegal 3-1 to kick off their tournament, with Mbappe scoring twice in that game, too.
Norway then beat Senegal 3-2 in their second game of the tournament, sealing their place in the knockouts. The Norwegians, who are back at the World Cup after 28 years, started their campaign with a 4-1 thumping of Iraq.
Colombia joined the party from Group K with their 1-0 win over DR Congo after the South Americans beat Uzbekistan 3-1 in their opening game.
Haiti became the first team to be sent home packing from the World Cup after suffering a 3-0 loss to Brazil in Group C in their first tournament since 1974, having also lost 1-0 to Scotland in their first game.
Turkiye soon followed suit in Group D, bowing out of the tournament after 1-0 defeat to 10-man Paraguay after also suffered a shock 2-0 loss to Australia in the first group match in their first appearance at the tournament after 24 years.
Tunisia became the third team and the first Africans to be eliminated after they lost 4-0 to Japan after they suffered another heavy 5-1 defeat to Sweden in the opener.
Tunisia were the first African team to win a World Cup match when they beat Mexico in 1978, but they have never progressed beyond the group stages.
In Group J, Jordan, one of the four debutants at the tournament, bowed out on Monday after losing 2-1 to Algeria in their second group game having lost 3-1 to Austria first.
Panama were knocked out from Group L on Tuesday after suffering their second defeat of the group stage, falling 1-0 to Croatia and another 1-0 to Ghana.
Group stage results
Group A
Mexico 2-0 South Africa
South Korea 2-1 Czechia
Czech Republic 1-2 South Africa
Mexico 1-0 South Korea
South Africa 1-0 South Korea
Czech Republic 0-3 Mexico
Group B
Canada 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Qatar 1-1 Switzerland
Switzerland 4-1 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Canada 6-0 Qatar
Switzerland 2-1 Canada
Bosnia & Herzegovina 3-1 Qatar
Group C
Brazil 1-1 Morocco
Haiti 0-1 Scotland
Scotland 0-1 Morocco
Brazil 3-0 Haiti
Group D
USA 4-1 Paraguay
Australia 2-0 Turkiye
USA 2-1 Australia
Turkiye 0-1 Paraguay
Group E
Côte d’Ivoire 1-0 Ecuador
Germany 7-1 Curaçao
Germany 2-1 Côte d’Ivoire
Ecuador 0-0 Curaçao
Group F
Netherlands 2-2 Japan
Sweden 5-1 Tunisia
Tunisia 0-4 Japan
Netherlands 5-1 Sweden
Group G
Belgium 1-1 Egypt
Iran 2-2 New Zealand
Beligium 0-0
New Zealand 1-3
Group H
Spain 0-0 Cape Verde
Saudi Arabia 1-1 Uruguay
Uruguay 2-2 Cape Verde
Spain 4-0 Saudi Arabia
Group I
France 3-1 Senegal
Iraq 1-4 Norway
Norway 3-2 Senegal
France 3-0 Iraq
Group J
Argentina 3-0 Algeria
Austria 3-1 Jordan
Argentina 2-0 Austria
Jordan 1-2 Tunisia
Group K
Portugal 1-1 DR Congo
Uzbekistan 1-3 Colombia
Portugal 5-0 Uzbekistan
Colombia 1-0 DR Congo
Group L
England 4-2 Croatia
Ghana 1-0 Panama
England 0-0 Ghana
Panama 0-1 Croatia
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