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
AI Match Analysis
Pre-match fact packAI data updated:
AI analysis was last updated 3h ago and may not reflect recent events.
Multi-model consensus
2 of 2 models agreeFacts favour the away side
One-sided profileDecisive factor: Elo gap 275 points
Data comparison
Elo ratingΔ 275
South Africa
1511
South Korea
1786
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.
- Sipho Chaine · Goalkeeper — Sipho Chaine is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 29.
Key players — South Korea
- Seung-Gyu Kim · Goalkeeper — Seung-Gyu Kim is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 35.
- Bum-keun Song · Goalkeeper — Bum-keun Song is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 28.
Tactical angle
Match status: scheduled; RSA vs KOR kicks off at 2026-06-25T01:00:00Z. This fact-pack analysis for South Africa (RSA) and South Korea (KOR) is tied to group A at Estadio BBVA, Monterrey, Mexico. Elo lists RSA at 1511 and KOR at 1786, a 275 point gap. Roster data lists RSA with 26 players at average age 26.3, and KOR with 26 players at average age 27.5. It uses only the verified fact pack and does not add incidents beyond matchState.
What to watch
- • Venue setting: Estadio BBVA, Monterrey, Mexico.
- • Ranking and Elo comparison: RSA 1511 / KOR 1786 / diff -275.
- • Roster availability and squad size: RSA 26 / KOR 26.
Fact box
- • Scheduled UTC: 2026-06-25T01:00:00Z
- • Status: scheduled
- • Stage: group A
- • Venue: Estadio BBVA, Monterrey
- • FIFA ranks: RSA 56, KOR 22
factpack-template-v1✓ static-checks+factpackeloratings.net · football-data.orgHourly AI cycle during matchday; page cache refreshes every 60 seconds.
Structured fact-pack summary generated from verified match data. 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 is scheduled for Thu, Jun 25, 01:00 AM UTC. 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 updates match status, scores and fixture links before and during matchday.
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.
