'Grouped with South Korea' South Africa suffers humiliation at World Cup departure ceremony... draws 0-0 with 131st-ranked FIFA team NIKARA

*This content was translated by AI.

South Africa, which is in the same group as the South Korean national football team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, drew 0-0 against NIKARA in a pre-World Cup friendly match. According to the FIFA rankings, South Africa is ranked 60th, while NIKARA is ranked 131st.

South Africa, led by Belgian coach Hugo Broos, drew 0-0 against NIKARA in a friendly match held at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, South Africa, on the 30th (Korean time). South Africa announced its final World Cup roster two days prior and held its World Cup departure ceremony in front of over 32,000 home fans on this day.

On this day, South Africa fielded striker Lyle Foster, who plays for Brentford in the English Premier League (EPL), as the leading striker, while midfielder Siphelele Sithole (Tondela, Portugal) and four of the five European-based players who made the final roster, including Samkelo Kavini (Molde, Norway) and Ime Okon (Hannover 96, Germany's 2. Bundesliga), started the match.

The rest of the starting lineup included players from the South African domestic league and Oluwatosin Makanya (Philadelphia Union), who plays in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States, similar to Son Heung-min (LAFC). Players from Mamelodi Sundowns, who played for their club team on the 26th, took a rest on this day.

South Africa dominated the match throughout but failed to score, resulting in a 0-0 draw. According to football statistics provider FotMob, South Africa's ball possession was a staggering 86%, with a shot count of 22-3. However, misfortune struck, including Foster's penalty kick hitting the post, leading to a goalless result. Coach Broos stated, "While the result did not meet expectations, I am satisfied with the players' performance."

Unable to secure a victory in front of home fans, South Africa will depart for the final venue, Mexico, at the end of this month. In Mexico, they are scheduled to play their final pre-World Cup friendly against Jamaica, ranked 71st in the FIFA rankings. Following this, they will face Mexico, the Czech Republic, and South Korea in Group A matches of the World Cup. This will be the first-ever meeting between South Korea and the South Korean national team. The FIFA ranking gap is significant, with South Korea at 25th and South Africa at 60th. South Africa is also the lowest-ranked team in Group A, following Mexico (15th), South Korea, and the Czech Republic (41st).

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*This content was translated by AI.