Mokoena’s late penalty earns Bafana Bafana 1-1 draw against Czech Republic

Teboho Mokoena scored an 83rd-minute penalty to earn South Africa a 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic at the World Cup, keeping Bafana Bafana’s knockout hopes alive.

South Africa trailed after five minutes and seven seconds when Michal Sadilek latched on to a clever lay-off and rifled home the earliest goal of the tournament so far.

The Bafana Bafana, who also conceded early against Mexico in their tournament opener, eventually settled into the game and slowed down play, but struggled to create chances and only managed their first shot on target in the 74th minute, BBC reports.

Their fortunes changed with less than 10 minutes of normal time remaining when Thapelo Maseko’s shot thundered into Pavel Sulc’s arm in the Czech box, forcing the referee to point to the spot.

Mokoena made no mistake with the finish, slotting into the left corner to level the match.

A point does little to help either side and their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages remain in the balance, with Mexico and South Korea above them in the Group A table.

However, with the eight best third-placed teams progressing to the last 32 and three points likely to be enough to secure a place in the knockout stages, both South Africa and the Czech Republic still have it all to play for in their final group games.

South Africa face South Korea on Thursday, June 25 at 02:00 BST, while the Czechs will take on co-hosts Mexico in the Azteca at the same time.

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