Bafana Bafana talisman Teboho Mokoena was in tears before the game and following its conclusion at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Thursday night. Mokoena and his teammates went all out, dug deep, and played a clever game to secure a point in their 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic.
Mokoena, the Mamelodi Sundowns CAF Champions League winner, stepped up when the team needed a leader, and he calmly netted the important equaliser late in the game for Bafana, who were trailing 1-0 from the first half.
South Africa’s hopes alive
The result means that South Africa’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage are alive and are a strong possibility now. They have to beat South Korea in the last Group A match next Thursday to advance to the next round.
According to the Fifa website, as Nkosi Sikelela iAfrica rung out, Mokoena remembered his late grandfather, his inspiration. And as Bafana fans celebrated a first World Cup point in 16 years, the veteran was emotionally overwhelmed at being its inspiration.
Mokoena’s late penalty cancelled out Michal Sadilek who finished a clever team move. The result kept both sides in pursuit of a last-32 slot.
Hugo Broos ‘very proud’
Said SA coach Hugo Broos after the match: “I’m very proud of my team. This is Bafana Bafana – we love good football, we are aggressive, we create chances. Yes, we made mistakes, but I’m very proud of the performance today. Czechia are powerful and very tall. We did very well. It’s a little bit of a pity that it’s only 1-1, but we just have to win the game against Korea Republic, which will be very difficult too. If we play with the same mentality, it will be possible.”
Broos’ charges had found themselves on the backfoot early in the game after Sadílek put Czechia in the lead in the sixth minute.
The South African fans who arrived in Atlanta, the capital of the U.S. state of Georgia, in huge numbers had to wait until the 82nd minute when the inspirational Mokoena drew Bafana Bafana level from the penalty spot. This is after the exciting Thapelo Maseko’s shot was blocked by the arm of Pavel Šulc was inside the area to earn the spot kick.
“I think that we played a very good game today, except for the one moment in the beginning of the first half where we did not concentrate, nor maintain focus. We knew that number five (Vladimír Coufal) had a long throw-in, but we let him surprise us. You know that at this level, you pay for such a mistake in cash. But except for that, I think that Bafana Bafana had a very good game,” Broos said.
Czechia coach disappointed
“We’re disappointed with this result. I think that, if we look at the chances, we were closer to winning, but we made a mistake that cost us.
Despite that, we played better in the second half,” said Czechia coach Moroslav Koubek.
Bafana Bafana will return to their base camp in Pachuca, Mexico, today ahead of next week’s final 2026 FIFA World Cup Group A match against South Korea.
- Bafana Bafana talisman Teboho Mokoena was in tears before the game and following its conclusion at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Thursday night.
- Mokoena and his teammates went all out, dug deep, and played a clever game to secure a point in their 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic.
- Mokoena, the Mamelodi Sundowns CAF Champions League winner, stepped up when the team needed a leader, and he calmly netted the important equaliser late in the game for Bafana, who were trailing 1-0 from the first half.
- South Africa’s hopes alive The result means that South Africa’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage are alive and are a strong possibility now.
- They have to beat South Korea in the last Group A match next Thursday to advance to the next round.
