After falling behind early in their Group A encounter, South Africa fought back to draw 1-1 with the Czech Republic at the World Cup, earning a penalty seven minutes from full-time.
Teboho Mokoena converted the spot-kick on Thursday after Pavel Suluk’s handball gave South Africa a lifeline as they looked set for an early exit.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
The Czech Republic took the lead in the 6th minute when Adam Frozek passed from the right flank and Michal Sadilek tapped a clever pass from Aleksandar Sojka into the net.
Although both teams lost their opening matches, they currently have one point. South Korea and co-host Mexico are two points behind and will play against Mexico later on Thursday.
South Africa will next face South Korea, while the Czech Republic will have the difficult task of taking on Mexico at the Estadio Azteca.
The first day of the World Cup started with disappointing performances and losses for both teams, but the Czech Republic quickly began to bounce back.
Patrik Schick is the biggest name in a Czech side that lacks the star quality of previous generations, but the Bayer Leverkusen forward missed a glorious chance by heading his shot wide within the first minute.
Miroslav Koubek’s side had to wait five minutes to take the lead.
Adam Frozek’s cross was elegantly cushioned by Aleksandr Sojka into the path of Sadilek, who calmly stroked the ball past Ronwen Williams.
South Africa, who will be competing for the fourth time, have never made it past the group stage in a World Cup.
Hugo Bruce has overseen an upturn in Bafana Bafana’s fortunes since taking over five years ago.
The 2010 hosts had not qualified for a World Cup since 2002, but finished third at the 2023 African Cup of Nations.
However, their return to the world stage has exposed a lack of quality, especially up front.
The Czech Republic were left to regret not creating more chances to decide the match early in the second half.
Vladimir Dalida took too long to shoot on a big chance before Lukas Cerv’s long-range shot was tipped over by Williams.
Thousands of empty seats were seen at the futuristic home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, but a half-hydration break in the closed, air-conditioned stadium drew loud boos from those in attendance.
The majority of the crowd supported South Africa and were finally able to cheer seven minutes before the end of the match.
Thapelo Maseko’s shot hit the unfortunate Pavel Suluk in the arm, and referee Tori Penso, part of the all-female officiating team, pointed out the spot.
Mokoena confidently took the spot kick, scoring his country’s first World Cup goal in 16 years.
Five minutes later, Matej Kovar made a save from Lelebohile Mofokeng to close the gap by two points.
However, both teams will have to compromise to earn a point, which could prove crucial after Wednesday’s final Group A game.
South Africa’s coach, Hugo Bruce, said that if South Africa repeats the same mindset they had in the draw with the Czech Republic, it is possible for South Africa to defeat South Korea and advance to the finals.
“I’m very proud of my team. This is Bafana Bafana. We love good football, we’re aggressive, we create chances. Yes, there were mistakes, but I’m very proud of today’s performance,” he said.
“The Czech team is powerful and tall. They did very well. It’s a little disappointing that it’s only 1-1, but we have to win the match against South Korea. This will also be a very difficult match.”
“It’s possible if we play with the same mentality.”
Czech coach Miroslav Koubek said his players could not have contributed more.
“I rate today’s performance positively,” he told local media.
“I can’t blame the players for anything. On the contrary, I can praise them. They gave their all. Sometimes it can be more than a victory.”
