Friday June 19, 2026
Teboho Mokoena (L) of South Africa vies with Michal Sadilek of the Czech Republic during the group A match between the Czech Republic and South Africa at the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, the United States, June 18, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Kaiyan)
South Africa and Czechia left Atlanta with a point apiece after a tense 1-1 draw in their second Group A outing at the 2026 World Cup on Thursday, a result that did little for either team’s hopes.
Both sides arrived under pressure after losing their openers, with South Africa falling 2-0 to Mexico and Czechia going down 2-1 to South Korea.
Czechia came out on the front foot, with striker Patrik Schick heading narrowly wide after just one minute. The European side then struck in the sixth minute to seize the early advantage.
A throw-in sparked the move, and after a sharp Czechia passing sequence, Alexandr Sojka teed up Michal Sadilek to score the quickest goal of the 2026 World Cup to date.
Even so, that effort was the only shot on target in a first half short on clear openings, as neither side managed to build sustained attacking momentum.
Czechia threatened to add a second soon after the restart, but South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams came up big, producing a series of saves to keep out Lukas Cerv and Schick.
South Africa were handed a lifeline in the 82nd minute when Pavel Sulc handled the ball inside the area, and Teboho Mokoena showed no nerves from the spot, wrong-footing Matej Kovar to level the match.
The closing stages brought a surge of urgency, with both teams throwing men forward in search of a winner that never came.
Coach Miroslav Koubek lamented the missed opportunity in Atlanta, saying Czechia had created enough to take all three points but failed to turn its edge into victory.
“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. Despite that, we played better in the second half,” he said.
“Yes, we made mistakes, but I’m very proud of the performance today. The Czechia team is powerful and very tall. We did very well. It’s a little bit of a pity that it’s only 1-1, but we just have to win the game against South Korea, which will be very difficult too. If we play with the same mentality, it will be possible,” said South Africa coach Hugo Broos.
