South Africa’s Bafana Bafana recorded their first ever win at a FIFA World Cup match when they edged out the Korea Republic 1-0 in a tense final group match.
Thapelo Maseko turned out to be the match-winner with a 63rd minute left-footed strike for Hugo Broos’ side.
The crucial three points catapulted South Africa into second place, locking in a Round of 32 blockbuster against Canada.
Conversely, South Korea faces an agonizing intermission, left to wait on other results to see if their three-point haul will be enough to progress as one of the best third-placed teams.
Meanwhile, Morocco bounced back in spectacular fashion to book their Round of 32 ticket, overcoming a resilient Haiti side 4-2 in an action-packed encounter at Atlanta Stadium.
Despite Haiti taking the lead twice through a Yassine Bounou own goal and a brilliant Wilson Isidor strike, Morocco responded via Achraf Hakimi and Ismael Saibari.
Substitute Soufiane Rahimi proved to be the hero, netting a deflected winner in the 78th minute before setting up fellow sub Gessime Yassine in the 89th to seal the comeback victory.
With that result, Morocco claimed second place in Group C just behind Brazil, who absolutely cruised to a 3-0 victory over Scotland at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
Vinícius Júnior was the star of the show, bagging a first-half brace before Matheus Cunha put the game to bed after the interval.
The match also featured an emotional milestone for the Seleção, as Neymar made his highly anticipated return to international football, coming off the bench in the 76th minute for his first appearance since October 2023.
Carlo Ancelotti’s flawless Brazil side tops the group and now prepares to face either the Netherlands, Japan, or Sweden in the next round.
In Group B, Switzerland pulled off a dramatic coup by defeating co-hosts Canada to snatch the top spot.
Following a cagey and scoreless first half, the Swiss attack ignited as Ruben Vargas and Johan Manzambi struck in rapid succession.
While Promise David managed to pull one back for the co-hosts to set up a grandstand finish, Canada ultimately fell short of an equalizer.
Despite the sting of losing the group’s pole position, Canada still advances to the knockout phase, where they will look to regroup before their newly booked date with South Africa.
Rounding out the matchday’s historic milestones, Mexico put on a clinical display by defeating Czechia 3-0, marking the first time in El Tri’s history that they have won all three of their World Cup group-stage matches.
22-year-old Mateo Chavez opened his World Cup account in the 55th minute, followed quickly by Julian Quinones’ second goal of the tournament, before Alvaro Fidalgo capped off the historic Wednesday night with a stoppage-time exclamation point.
Elsewhere, Bosnia and Herzegovina kept their own qualification hopes burning as Ermin Mahmic netted the final blow in a 3-1 victory over Qatar, leaving the Europeans praying for a favorable mathematical path into the Round of 32.
