It was a game which rarely produced much excitement as South Africa were content with sitting back and waiting to hit their opponents on the counter-attack, while South Korea lacked quality in the final third. Bafana Bafana, playing at the tournament for the first time since South Africa hosted it in 2010, were widely written off after their 2:0 loss to Group A winners Mexico.
South Korea dominated much of the ball and it was the African side, who were tricky to deal with on the break, who produced the best opportunities throughout and they deserved their goal. They rarely managed to threaten South Africa, with a tame Oh Hyeon-gyu header and an early Lee Kang-in strike among their rare chances.
Son, who was left on the bench, came on at the start of the second half, one of three changes made by coach Hong as he sought to change the script.
The greatest moments of jubilation inside the stadium had come from green-clad Mexico fans watching on as neutrals as they celebrated their side’s goals against Czech Republic.
South Africa seized their moment, with Tshepang Moremi crossing to Maseko, who this time kept his cool, firing home inside the near post in the 63rd minute.
South Korea pushed hard in the closing stages but ran out of time, meaning South Africa will face cohosts Canada in Los Angeles on June 28. Mexico topped the group with nine points after winning all three of their matches.
