South Africa, despite growing into the encounter, struggled to create chances and only managed their first shot on target in the 74th minute.
By Kehinde Okeowo
South Africa earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic in their second group game of the 2026 World Cup, played at the Atlanta Stadium.
The Bafana Bafana trailed after five minutes and seven seconds when Michal Sadilek latched onto a clever lay-off and rifled home the earliest goal of the tournament so far.
They, however, slowed down the tempo of play and eventually grew into the encounter, but struggled to create chances and only managed their first shot on target in the 74th minute.
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South Africa finally got a lifeline when Thapelo Maseko’s shot thundered into Pavel Sulc’s arm in the Czech box with less than 10 minutes of normal time remaining.
The referee thereafter pointed to the spot and Teboho Mokoena made no mistake with the finish, slotting into the left corner for the equaliser.
Despite earning their first point of the tournament, the chances of both sides making it to the knockout stages remain in the balance, with Mexico and South Korea above them in the Group A table.
However, with the eight best third-placed teams progressing to the last 32 and three points likely to be enough to secure a place in the knockout stages, South Africa and the Czech Republic still have their work cut out in their final group games.
