Hugo Broos, the 74th-year-old veteran coach of South Africa, said, "Our tactics were better than Korea's... They looked impatient after conceding a goal."

*This content was translated by AI.

Hugo Broos (74), the South African coach who delivered a shocking defeat to South Korea, expressed joy over the decisive victory achieved through meticulous, tailored tactics.

On the 25th (Korea time), South Africa defeated South Korea 1-0 in the final Group A match of the 2026 FIFA North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup qualifiers at Monterrey Stadium in Guadalupe, Mexico. With this win, South Africa secured 4 points (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss), pushing South Korea to third place and clinching the first-ever direct ticket to the Round of 32 by finishing second in the group.

According to NEWSIS, after the match, Coach Broos said, "All players performed at 100%. I am proud of our players who achieved this result," expressing his satisfaction.

He noted that the tactics targeting South Korea's weaknesses had hit the mark. Coach Broos explained, "As expected, South Korea is fast, has high activity levels, and targets the space behind. When they get the ball, we press and block them as much as possible. We also have fast players, so we were able to win through counterattacks."

He added, "We already had chances in the first half, and at halftime, I told the players to keep believing. I told them that if they continued playing like in the first half and scored when the opportunity came, they could win. And that's exactly what happened."

He also exploited South Korea's impatience after conceding the first goal in the 18th minute of the second half. Coach Broos said, "After South Korea conceded the first goal, they looked impatient. They seemed eager to equalize. I think we held our positions well and blocked them perfectly."

He also praised the players' strong mental resilience after overcoming their first-match defeat. Coach Broos said, "In the opening match against Mexico, players without World Cup experience seemed overwhelmed by the atmosphere. But they did well in the second match against Czechia, and they did even better today. The players overcame their limits."

He also addressed the harsh criticism directed at him before the tournament. "I have received a lot of criticism, and people didn't understand what I was doing. Criticism was intense even in recent weeks, but I never doubted myself," he revealed.

He continued, "Our team's strength is that it becomes more united when things don't go well. No one criticizes another player. Instead, they work harder when things don't go well. The team's mental strength is truly remarkable. It will serve as an example for many teams," he emphasized.

Coach Broos, who had declared his retirement as a coach, postponed his farewell match with today's victory. He said, "In fact, this could have been my last career game. I was extremely moved to secure the win. I felt nervous when we scored, and emotions welled up as soon as the match ended."

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*This content was translated by AI.