Africa-Press. South African national team player Teboho Mokwena revived his country’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup with a last-minute equalizer against the Czech Republic, resulting in a 1-1 draw in the second round of Group A.
The match took place at Atlanta Stadium, where the Czech team surprised their South African counterparts with an early goal in the sixth minute by Michal Sadilek, who took advantage of goalkeeper Ronwen Williams’ exit from his goal and struck a powerful ground shot that found the net.
South Africa continued to search for a way back into the match throughout the game, before being awarded a valuable opportunity in the 81st minute when the referee called a penalty for a handball by one of the Czech players.
Teboho Mokwena successfully converted the penalty into an equalizer in the 83rd minute, giving his team a crucial point that kept their hopes alive, before the match ended in a positive draw.
The South African team had lost their first match against Mexico 2-0, while the Czech Republic fell to South Korea 2-1, entering the second round without any points.
With this draw, both South Africa and the Czech Republic earned their first point in the tournament, while the determination of the qualifiers from the group has been postponed to the third and final round.
South Africa is set to face South Korea in a decisive match, while the Czech Republic will meet Mexico, with South Africa needing a victory to maintain their hopes of qualification.
South Africa’s participation in the 2026 World Cup marks an important event for football in the country, as the team returns to the finals for the first time since the 2010 edition hosted by the African nation.
In their previous two World Cup appearances in 1998 and 2002, South Africa failed to advance beyond the group stage, and they exited the 2010 tournament in the first round despite hosting the event.
The return to the World Cup comes after years of absence and decline on the international stage, making the draw against the Czech Republic a significant step in the journey to restore South Africa’s presence on the biggest football stage.
The participation of the South African team is part of the largest African representation in World Cup history, with the number of teams from the continent rising to ten in the 2026 edition, under the new tournament format that includes 48 teams.
Alongside South Africa, teams from Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are participating, carrying the continent’s hopes for achieving new accomplishments.
African ambition gains additional momentum following the historic achievement of the Moroccan team in the 2022 World Cup when they became the first African team to reach the semi-finals.
