File: South Africa's players take part in a training session at the Club America Training Site in Mexico City. (Photo by Yuri CORTEZ / AFP)
JOHANNESBURG - With the second round of matches having already kicked off, the road to the last 32 and the knock-out stages at the World Cup has begun.
The round of 32 runs from 28 June 28 to 3 July.
Before that, though, Bafana Bafana has its last Group A match. This must-win match will be played against South Korea at 3am South African time on Thursday.
The top two teams in each of the 12 groups, along with the eight best third-place finishers, advance to knockouts.
From Group A, co-hosts Mexico are through; they were the first team to punch their ticket.
Fellow co-hosts, the US were the second team to make it into the last 32, playing from Group D.
Four-time champions, Germany entered the last 32 following a 2-1 win against the Ivory Coast, coming in from Group F.
Making their way home are Haiti from Group C, who were the first team to be sent packing.
Turkiye soon followed suit, bowing out of the tournament after a 1-0 defeat to a 10-man Paraguay.
Tunisia became the third team to be eliminated after they lost 4-0 to Japan.