Soccer
Hugo Broos was proud of the fight South Africa showed to salvage a draw against Czechia but admitted “it’s a pity” it ended 1-1.
Teboho Mokoena’s 83rd-minute penalty ensured South Africa did not begin their World Cup campaign with back-to-back defeats after Michal Sadilek’s early opener.
Bafana Bafana have now avoided defeat in a World Cup game after conceding the first goal, for the third time (P7 L4), also doing so against Denmark in 1998 (1-1) and Paraguay in 2002 (2-2).
Mokoena’s penalty was their first at the World Cup since Quinton Fortune scored from the spot in that Paraguay game, and it could have turned the tide late on.
South Africa had more shots (17 to 14) and more on target (four to three), while their 1.4 expected goals (xG) also saw them edge Czechia (1.0), though it was inflated somewhat by the penalty.
Broos’ side came the closest to a winner, with Relebohile Mofokeng and Evidence Makgopa both testing Matej Kovar, leaving their head coach slightly disappointed they did not come away with three points.
“I think I’m very proud of my team,” Broos told SABC Sport.
“When you see the reaction after the game against Mexico, this is Bafana Bafana – we play good football, we are aggressive, we have chances.
“But you need also a little bit, and we made one mistake; everyone knows that number five [Vladimir Coufal] is throwing very far, but in the beginning of the game, we were surprised by that.
“It’s a pity. But again, I’m very proud of the performance of my team.”
Points shared in Group #FIFAWorldCup
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As for Czechia, they have failed to win either of their first two matches (D1 L1) at a World Cup tournament for the first time since 1982 (also D1 L1).
They also became the first side to score first in each of their opening two matches but fail to win either since Tunisia in 2006.
It was a Pavel Sulc handball that gave away the penalty as he was deemed to have made himself bigger to block a Thapelo Maseko shot, and Mirosav Koubek rued their late lapse when South Africa upped the pressure.
“We’re disappointed with this result because I think that, if we look at the chances, we were closer to winning, but we made a mistake that cost us the tie,” Koubek said.
“Despite that, we played better in the second half.”
Czechia and South Africa both remain in with a chance of qualifying from Group A with one point each, but will likely need a win in their final group game on June 24. Czechia face co-hosts Mexico, while Bafana Bafana clash with South Korea.
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