Are South Africa knocked out of FIFA World Cup 2026?

South Africa reached the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup for the first time.

Despite getting a dismal start to their FIFA World Cup campaign with a 2-0 defeat against Mexico, South Africa managed to gather themselves and reach the knockout stage of the summer competition.

Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Czechia and later recorded a historic 0-1 victory over former World Cup semi-finalists South Korea in their last group-stage game. They finished second in Group A with four points from three games, trailing only Mexico, which won all three of its games.

Are South Africa out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

Despite a gallant defensive display in their first-ever knockout game at the FIFA World Cup, South Africa’s historic campaign at the summer competition has come to an end. Hugo Broos’ men will soon be leaving North America after being eliminated from the tournament with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Canada.

Les Rouges captain Stephen Eustáquio scored the only goal of the match (90+2′), helping the co-hosts secure a berth in the next round. The Porto midfielder, who’s currently playing for Los Angeles FC on a loan, scored from outside the box to add a page of glory to the nation’s history books.

Also Read: Who is Stephen Eustáquio? Canada midfielder who scored vs South Africa in FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32

Eustáquio gave a strong performance against Bafana Bafana, scoring the winner, creating five chances while maintaining a passing accuracy of 93 per cent. On the other hand, South Africa’s defence played strongly. Bafana’s captain, Ronwen Williams, made five saves, while Khuliso Mudau had the most defensive contributions in the whole game (15), and Ime Okon had the most touches (108).

South Africa had 58 per cent possession, taking six shots compared to Canada’s 12. However, they struggled to create serious attacking opportunities in the series, as reflected in the statistics.

Les Rouges had four big chances they missed and seven shots on target. On the other hand, Hugo Broos’ men only had one shot on target, and they created only one big chance.

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