South Africa need to cause an upset if they are to avoid going home from the World Cup at the first hurdle – but South Korea have more than enough incentive to make things difficult for them.
The game is set to kick off at 7pm local time (2am UK time) at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, Mexico, with the host nation taking on the Czech Republic at the same time in the final pair of Group A games.
Mexico cannot be toppled from first place in the group no matter what, so a draw is as good as a win for South Korea in this one thanks to having secured the head-to-head advantage over the Czechs.
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Score prediction for South Africa vs South Korea
That could make things very tricky for South Africa, who cannot really afford to settle for anything less than the full three points after taking just one from their first two games.
A 2-0 defeat with nine men against Mexico in the opening game of the World Cup was followed by a similarly poor showing against the Czech Republic – but Teboho Mokoena’s late penalty earned them a draw nonetheless.
Hugo Broos will need to see a better performance from his side, then – but a victory could be enough to see them overhaul their opponents into second place, depending on the Czech result in Mexico City.
If not, a win would give South Africa a decent chance of making it through as one of the best eight third-placed sides.
But South Korea showed both quality and spirit as they came from behind to beat Czechia 2-1 in their opening game, and will be looking to put the result beyond doubt if they possibly can rather than playing for a draw from the off and risking it coming back to bite them.
For that to occur, the Koreans will need to be more creative and more clinical than they were as they drew a blank in a narrow defeat to Mexico last time out.
That leaves head coach Hong Myung-bo a difficult balance to strike, but they should come into this game feeling confident of their ability to get the job done and make it out of the group stage for the second time in a row.
South Africa just haven’t done anywhere near enough to convince us that they are going to pull off a shock in this one, and if they go two goals behind, it could easily become three or four as a dispirited mood sets in.
We’re calling Hwang In-beom, Son hung-min and co to get more than the single point they need to progress.
- Score prediction: South Africa 0-3 South Korea