South Africa vs South Korea Preview

Thursday’s early-hours Group A finale at Estadio BBVA sees South Africa take on South Korea, with both sides knowing only a positive result will keep alive any realistic hope of reaching the knockout stage. With Mexico already through and Czechia level on points with South Africa, this represents a genuine must-win scenario for Bafana Bafana.

South Africa’s most recent outing ended in a 1-1 draw away to Czechia on 18th June, a result that leaves them third on goal difference. Prior to that, they lost 2-0 at home to Mexico in their previous group fixture. Before that, a 1-1 draw at home to Jamaica in a warm-up friendly. Earlier in this run they drew 0-0 at home with Nicaragua, and in their oldest result here they lost 1-2 at home to Panama. Bafana Bafana have struggled to find victories throughout this run, with just three draws and two defeats across their last five matches, and they desperately need to find a winning touch here.

South Korea’s most recent outing brought a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Mexico on 19th June, a result that leaves their qualification hopes finely balanced. Prior to that, they won 2-1 at home to Czechia in their tournament opener. Before that, a 1-0 home win over El Salvador. Earlier in this run they thrashed Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 at home, and in their oldest result here they were beaten 1-0 away by Austria. The Taeguk Warriors have shown they can be dangerous in attack and arrive with greater recent firepower than their opponents.

There is no previous meeting on record between these two nations, making this the first-ever fixture between South Africa and South Korea.

South Korea sit second on three points and a goal difference of zero, while South Africa occupy fourth on one point and a goal difference of -2. A South Korea win here would move them to six points and guarantee second place behind Mexico, while South Africa simply cannot afford anything other than a positive result if their tournament is to continue.

In the UK, this match is live on BBC Two and available to stream via BBC iPlayer. In the United States, viewers can watch on Fox Sports 1 or fuboTV. South African fans can follow the action on SABC 1 or SuperSport MaXimo 1, while South Korean supporters can tune in on KBS2 Korea or JTBC.

Possible Lineups

South Africa (4-3-3) Williams, Mudau, Mbatha, Okon, Mbokazi, Mokoena, Rayners, Modiba, Adams, Appollis, Maseko

South Korea (3-4-2-1) Kim, Lee, Kim, Kim, Lee, Paik, Hwang, Lee, Seol, Son, Lee

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Group A Table

Pos	Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	P
1	Mexico	2	2	0	0	3	0	+3	6
2	Korea Republic	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	3
3	Czech Republic	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1
4	South Africa	2	0	1	1	1	3	-2	1

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South Africa Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
🤝	Czech Republic	1-1	South Africa	World Cup	18.06.26
❌	Mexico	2-0	South Africa	World Cup	11.06.26
🤝	Jamaica	1-1	South Africa	Friendly	06.06.26
🤝	South Africa	0-0	Nicaragua	Friendly	29.05.26
❌	South Africa	1-2	Panama	Friendly	31.03.26

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South Korea Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
❌	Mexico	1-0	South Korea	World Cup	19.06.26
✅	South Korea	2-1	Czech Republic	World Cup	12.06.26
✅	South Korea	1-0	El Salvador	Friendly	04.06.26
✅	South Korea	5-0	Trinidad & Tobago	Friendly	31.05.26
❌	Austria	1-0	South Korea	Friendly	31.03.26

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Head-to-Head

No previous meetings on record between these two nations.

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TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
Great Britain	BBC Two, BBC Sport Web, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live
Ireland	BBC Two, RTE 2, BBC Sport Web, RTE Player, BBC iPlayer
USA	Fox Sports 1, fuboTV, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo
South Africa	SABC 1, SABC 3, SuperSport MaXimo 1
Korea Republic	KBS2 Korea, JTBC, Naver Chzzk
France	beIN Sports 2, beIN SPORTS CONNECT
Germany	MagentaTV
Australia	SBS On Demand, SBS Viceland
Canada	TSN2, TSN+, RDS 2
Italy	DAZN Italia