South Africa, Third Opponent, to Face Korea Without Key Players

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Our national team's final opponent, South Africa, drew with the Czech Republic, leaving them with one draw and one loss. While they are expected to go all out against us to secure a spot in the Round of 32, they are facing a major setback as two of their key midfielders will be unable to play in the match against Korea.

Reporter Jeon Young-min has the story.

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With Tori Penso, only the second female referee in history to officiate a World Cup match, signaling the kickoff, South Africa conceded the opening goal to the Czech Republic's Sadilek in the 6th minute.

South Africa, which relentlessly pressured the Czech goal afterward, finally found an equalizer in the 81st minute.

Mokoena calmly converted a penalty kick awarded following a handball foul by a Czech player, bringing the match back to level terms.

Having drawn 1-1, South Africa is tied with the Czech Republic at one draw and one loss, but remains at the bottom of Group A due to goal difference.

[Maseko / South Africa National Football Team: We were unlucky today. But our team's performance proved that we can do it, that it is possible.]

For South Africa to keep their slim hopes of reaching the Round of 32 alive, they must defeat our national team in the final match on June 25. However, they have suffered a significant blow to their squad.

Following key midfielder Zwane, who received a three-match suspension after being sent off against Mexico, Mokoena—the team's most active player with the highest pass completion rate, playing a role similar to our team's Hwang In-beom—will also miss the final match due to accumulated yellow cards.

South Africa's head coach Broos, facing an even greater headache, expressed extreme caution regarding our national team.

[Hugo Broos / South Africa National Football Team Head Coach: (South Korea) is like a battery. Once you plug them in, they start running and keep running for the entire 90 minutes. The third match will certainly not be an easy one.]

The fact that South Africa, considered the weakest team in Group A, has a weakened midfield and cannot afford to focus solely on defense is a favorable condition for our national team, which excels at exploiting the space behind the opponent's defense.

(Video Editing: Jeon Min-gyu)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.