Group A · FIFA World Cup 2026
South Africa vs South Korea
South Africa vs South Korea at FIFA World Cup 2026. Thu, Jun 25, 01:00 AM UTC. Estadio BBVA.
Kickoff
Venue
Estadio BBVA
Monterrey
Capacity
53,500
Match facts
Group A · South Africa – South Korea · Kickoff · Estadio BBVA, Monterrey.
Final score: RSA 1–0 KOR. Pre-kickoff model favorite: KOR 66% — miss. Scored in the public AI track record.
Updated · Not betting advice.
AI Post-Match Analysis
Full-time fact packScore: 1–0AI data updated:
Multi-model consensus
2 of 2 models agreeFacts favour the away side
Competitive profileDecisive factor: Elo gap 148 points
Data comparison
Elo ratingΔ 164
South Africa
1559
South Korea
1723
FIFA ranking: #56 vs #22
Head-to-head
First ever meeting between these sides
Source: eloratings.net — descriptive strength rating, not a prediction
Key players — South Africa
- Ronwen Williams · Goalkeeper — Ronwen Williams is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 34; DOB 1992-01-21.
- Themba Zwane · Midfield — Themba Zwane is listed as Midfield; roster age 36; DOB 1989-08-03.
- Lyle Foster · Offence — Lyle Foster is listed as Offence; roster age 25; DOB 2000-09-04.
Key players — South Korea
- Seung-Gyu Kim · Goalkeeper — Seung-Gyu Kim is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 35; DOB 1990-09-30.
- Min-Jae Kim · Defence — Min-Jae Kim is listed as Defence; roster age 29; DOB 1996-11-15.
- Heung-min Son · Offence — Heung-min Son is listed as Offence; roster age 33; DOB 1992-07-08.
Tactical angle
Match status: ft; score RSA 1-0 KOR. This post-match update covers South Africa (RSA) and South Korea (KOR). Elo lists RSA at 1559 and KOR at 1723, a 164 point gap. Roster data lists RSA with 26 players at average age 26.3, and KOR with 26 players at average age 27.5.
What to watch
- • Match status: ft; score RSA 1-0 KOR for RSA vs KOR.
- • Venue: Estadio BBVA, Monterrey, Mexico.
- • Scheduled UTC: 2026-06-25T01:00:00Z.
Fact box
- • Scheduled UTC: 2026-06-25T01:00:00Z.
- • Status: ft / RSA 1-0 KOR
- • Match status: ft; score RSA 1-0 KOR for RSA vs KOR.
- • Venue: Estadio BBVA, Monterrey, Mexico.
- • FIFA ranks: RSA 56, KOR 22.
deepseek-v4-pro]✓ kimi-k2.5]eloratings.net · football-data.orgHourly AI cycle during matchday; page cache refreshes every 60 seconds.
Generated from verified structured match data and cross-checked by a second model. Informational only — no predictions, no betting advice.
Kickoff time by timezone
GoalPulse keeps the canonical fixture time in UTC, then renders venue local time and UTC+8 for Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur searchers.
Venue local time
America/Monterrey
Local stadium time, generated with the venue IANA timezone rather than the server timezone.
UTC+8 time
Asia/Shanghai
Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur all use UTC+8 during the tournament window, so the clock time is identical.
Canonical UTC
UTC
Canonical source timestamp used by schema, datasets and downstream feeds.
South Africa local time
Africa/Johannesburg
Primary home-market time for South Africa; useful when team-country time differs from venue, UTC or UTC+8.
South Korea local time
Asia/Seoul
Primary home-market time for South Korea; useful when team-country time differs from venue, UTC or UTC+8.
Match quick answers
When is South Africa vs South Korea?
South Africa vs South Korea finished 1-0 after the Thu, Jun 25, 01:00 AM UTC kickoff. Venue local time is Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 07:00 PM CST; UTC+8 time for Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur is Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 09:00 AM GMT+8. Team-local checks: South Africa local time: Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 03:00 AM GMT+2; South Korea local time: Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 10:00 AM GMT+9.GoalPulse keeps the final score, match status and source-backed fixture links on this page.
Where is South Africa vs South Korea played?
The match is played at Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico, a venue with capacity for 53,500 supporters.
What stage is this match?
This is a group stage match in Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The top two teams in the group and the eight best third-placed teams advance to the Round of 32.
What are the FIFA rankings and coaches?
South Africa are FIFA-ranked #56 and coached by Hugo Broos. South Korea are FIFA-ranked #22 and coached by Hong Myung-bo.
Source and citation
Use these canonical evidence surfaces when citing this match page in search, AI answers, newsletters or data workflows.
Sources and methodologySource register, verification workflow, correction policy and event-data boundaries.Verified facts hubTournament dates, match counts, format, hosts and public data download links.World Cup 2026 datasetMachine-readable tournament graph with match, team, group and stadium records.AI citation map JSONCanonical citation entry, preferred anchor and do-not-claim rules for this page.
Match preview
South Africa face South Korea in the group stage Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Thursday, June 25, 2026. The match kicks off at Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico, a venue with a capacity of 53,500.
South Korea are the higher-ranked side on paper (FIFA #22) facing South Africa (#56). The a sizeable ranking gap between the two sides is 34 places. This is a cross-confederation clash: CAF vs AFC.
South Africa are coached by Hugo Broos, while South Korea are led by Hong Myung-bo. Both managers have shaped distinct identities for their squads in the build-up to North America 2026.
In Group A, only the top two teams advance directly to the round of 32, with the third-placed team competing for one of the eight best third-place spots across all 12 groups. A result here can shape the group quickly because the expanded format leaves less recovery margin than a simple top-two table.
FIFA World Cup 2026 is the first edition with 48 teams, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026. A total of 104 matches will be played, the highest in tournament history.
