South Africa's Teboho Mokoena, penalty kick hero, suspended next World Cup match

Teboho Mokoena didn't hold back his emotions during the playing of South Africa's national anthem on Thursday, June 18 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as he was moved to tears while taking in the moment.

Later in the game he became the country's hero when he scored a penalty kick in the 83rd minute to tie the match 1-1, and saving South Africa from certain elimination.

But he'll now have to sit out his country's final Group A game next week vs. South Korea.

In the 33rd minute of Thursday's World Cup game in Atlanta against Czechia, Mokoena was issued a yellow card, bringing his total to two for the international tournament and automatically suspending him for a match under FIFA rules.

"That is going to be a big miss for them," a Fox Sports analysts said during the network's in-studio halftime show.

Mokoena's first yellow card came in South Africa's World Cup opener last Thursday against Mexico. South Africa was hit with two yellow cards in the opening half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with Thalente Mbatha getting the other in the 40th minute.

Trailing 1-0 at halftime, South Africa will look to either tie or take the lead against Czechia to get its first points of Group A play. The Bafana Bafana entered Thursday's game with a 0-1 record after losing to Mexico last Thursday at the Estadio Azteca.

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World Cup TV Schedule for June 18

All times Eastern and accurate as of Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at 6:04 a.m.

• 12:00 PM - Czechia vs South Africa (Group A) on Fox from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia
• 3:00 PM - Switzerland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (Group B) on Fox from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California
• 6:00 PM - Canada vs Qatar (Group B) on FS1 from BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia
• 9:00 PM - Mexico vs South Korea (Group A) on Fox from Estadio Akron in Zapopan, Jalisco

World Cup standings

Explore live group standings, stats and the updated bracket with USA TODAY Sports here.

2026 World Cup format

The 48 competing nations are divided into 12 groups of four. Each group will play a round robin style where teams are awarded three points for a win and one point for a draw. The top two teams in each group advance to the Round of 32 along with the eight best third-place squads. Tiebreakers in the group standings will be resolved using the following criteria:

• Greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned
• Superior goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned
• Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned
• Superior goal difference in all group matches
• Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches
• Highest team conduct score (players and team officials) relating to the number of yellow and red cards obtained
• The two or more teams still equal on points shall be ranked according to the most recent published edition of the FIFA Men's World Ranking

World Cup groups

• Group A : Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czechia
• Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland
• Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
• Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey
• Group E: Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador
• Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia
• Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
• Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
• Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway
• Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
• Group K: Portugal, DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia
• Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama

World Cup key dates

• Group Stage: June 11-June 27
• Round of 32 : June 28-July 3
• Round of 16 : July 4-7
• Quarterfinals : July 9-11
• Semifinals : July 14-15
• Third-place game : July 18 (Miami Gardens, Florida)
• Final : July 19 (East Rutherford, New Jersey)