26/06/2026

SPORTS FRIDAY | JUNE 26, 2026

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2026 WORLD CUP

Broos hails Bafana Bafana

said he had deliberately left captain Son on the bench in the hope the forward could exploit tiring South African legs after the break, but conceded his side never found their rhythm in a 1-0 defeat that left their World Cup fate hanging in the balance on Wednesday. “We thought that when the opponents had a lot of energy it would be better to use Son later in the game, when they started losing energy and there was more space. We wanted to use him when they were weaker,” Hong said. “We prepared well, but compared to our previous matches we made too many mistakes in midfield. That’s why my players lost confidence. “We knew how we should have played, but we should have done better. Today’s performance was simply not good enough,” Hong added. – Reuters

SOUTH AFRICA celebrated a first World Cup knockout berth with jubilant scenes yesterday after Thapelo Maseko’s sec ond half strike secured a 1-0 victory over South Korea, who still have a chance of advancing as one of the best third placed teams. Maseko fired into the bottom corner in the 63rd minute to put South Africa, who will face co-hosts Canada in Los Angeles on Tuesday, on four points behind Group A winners Mexico, who beat the Czech Republic 3-0. South Korea, who started with talis man Son Heung-min on the bench, have three points. Bafana Bafana had failed to advance from the group stage in their first three World Cup appearances in 1998, 2002 and 2010. “It was a fantastic experience. It was

because we won the game, but also because as I’ve said it probably will be one of my last games of my career. “When the Koreans had the ball we tried to cover all the spaces and I think we succeeded. But when we had the ball it was dangerous for them because we used the spaces that they gave us. We had quick plays and we have play ers who can find their spaces.” “Today you saw a team that believed in itself… On Sunday (Mon, 3am Malaysian time) again you will see a team that will believe in itself and that will fight for the 90 minutes, and more if we have to. And then we will see. But let’s hope we come out with a good result.” South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo

so tough today, but it was a good game. I think tactically we were very good and it was difficult for South Korea to find space,” South Africa coach Hugo Broos said. “We scored, then there were 20 min utes of heart-stopping moments. It’s his torical, and I’m very happy for the guys. I’ve been working with them for five years.” “I think we played a very good game tactically. It was very good; everyone did their job… I’m very proud of the perform ance of my team,” Broos said. “It was an emotional moment. We came here and we wanted to survive the group stage... And that for me was really a moment of emotions, not only

Mexico stay perfect Co-hosts bounce Czechs out of World Cup with 3-0 win

M EXICO continued their per fect start to the World Cup with a 3-0 romp against a hapless Czech Republic yesterday, finishing their group-stage campaign with a flourish and killing off their tame opponents’ hopes of making the knockouts. The co-hosts had already booked their spot in the last 32 as Group A winners but showed no mercy at the Azteca stadium to complete a third straight victory that left the sorry Czechs bottom of the standings and out of the tournament. The game looked to be drift ing towards a drab draw before Mexico exploded in the second half, with Mateo Chavez opening the scoring before Julian Quinones

should have scored. We made it easy for Mexico, easier than we should have in the second half. “We didn’t play that well. We made some stupid mistakes. We should have played better. In football the better team wins.” He admitted that lack of form, inju ries and even altitude – Mexico City is over 2,200m – factored into his deci sions in the game. “It is true that it was difficult for us to play in Mexico City, but our players did all they could.

seen them fail to reach the quarterfi nals since 1986. The omens suddenly look auspi cious – unbeaten in 11 games having sauntered through the group stage at a World Cup back on home soil, the hope is that this Mexico side could put years of turmoil and under-perform ance behind them. Czech Republic coach Miroslav Koubek blamed “stupid mistakes” and exhaustion from heavy travel for his team’s exit. “We had a big chance in the beginning. We

showed the power of mental strength,” he said at a press conference. Aguirre, 67, said his team’s mental ity is essential to keep progressing at the World Cup, where they will look to move beyond the quarterfinals for the first time. “I think we’ve improved in that area, that mentality of ‘Well, that’s it, we’ve done our part.’ This group has character,” he said. Mexico’s superb start to the tourna ment has kindled the fires of hope in their fervent supporters that this team could be the one to put to bed the so called curse that has

from Group C, E, F, H or I with the match again in front of their fans at the Azteca, where they are unbeaten in nine World Cup matches. “I think the team played a good game, honestly,” Mexico’s hard-to please coach Javier Aguirre said. “Ultimately, we always have a few things to work on, but tonight is a good night for everyone. “I didn’t like the first 20 minutes, but then we settled down, the team recovered, and that’s where we

I think they were also able to cope with the altitude. One player Denis Visinsky got tired – he had difficulty. “It is true that we had

several players who we thought would play each time in the starting XI but their performances weren’t that good. That was a surprise. There were some injuries and some players were tired after a long season.” – Reuters/Agencies

grabbed his second of the tournament and substitute Alvaro Fidalgo dealt the final blow. Mexico’s reward for a fault less opening stage will be a

knockout clash on Wednesday with a third-placed side

Mexico teammates lift Guillermo Ochoa (top) in celebration after their 3-0 win over the Czech Republic to secure top spot in World Cup Group A yesterday – AFPPIC

Switzerland look to fine-tune after edging Canada

and we got to do it quickly because we’re going to be in the knockout phase, which is exactly where we wanted to be.” Marsch pointed to a tendency to tighten up in big moments as the key issue. “Everything that we work on and work through is about really being aggressive and using our athleticism and our team speed,” he said. “The only thing that I feel is that when the occasion is momentous, players get a little tighter and their natural reaction is to hold back a little bit more, instead of going for it more. “We came up a little short, and that’s unfortunate,” Marsch added. “But we’re in the knockout round, and we’re going to make sure that we’re up for it better.” - Reuters

our family and friends in San Diego. We love to be in San Diego. “We’ll just stay there and just calm down because the pressure was immense after the start of the tourna ment. Because we needed to win. Now we delivered it as a team, and I think that we deserve to be where we are right now.” Canada coach Jesse Marsch said his side must quickly learn how to handle high-quality opposition after yesterday’s defeat cost them a chance to play their knockout round game on home soil. “Switzerland is a very good team, a very experienced team, a very intelli gent team, and I think that showed today,” Marsch told reporters. “We need to continue to understand how to handle those kinds of opponents, how to handle those kinds of games,

“It is also very important for us as a staff because we do need that time and we will know the next opponent in a cou ple of days.” After a subdued first half, Switzerland seized control immediately after the restart. Vargas struck within a minute of the second period before Manzambi doubled the lead 11 minutes later. Canada pressed late in a frantic finish at a packed BC Place, where a largely home crowd roared their team on, but goalkeeper Gregor Kobel produced a series of saves to preserve the win. Switzerland will return to their World Cup training base in San Diego during the break, taking time to recover. “It’s not going to be completely free,” Murat added. “Because first of all, we will travel back home tomorrow. We will enjoy the win. We will spend time with

SWITZERLAND will use their seven-day break before the World Cup Round of 32 to regroup and work on the finer details, coach Murat Yakin said yesterday after his side’s 2-1 win over co-hosts Canada secured top spot in Group B. Second-half goals from Ruben Vargas and Johan Manzambi earned Switzerland victory and a place in the knockout stage as group winners, with Canada also advancing as runners-up. The result left Switzerland on seven points and ensured they will remain in Vancouver for their last-32 tie. “Now we have more rest days and we can recover for a longer time,” Murat told reporters. “Hopefully we can actually work on the details. We can regroup, refocus, organise much better, look at the nuts and bolts.