South Africa's record on United States soil does not make for pretty reading as Czechs loom

[p]Both sides will be desperate for a win after losing their openers to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mexico/O6iHcNkd/"]Mexico[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/south-korea/K6Gs7P6G/"]South Korea[/a] respectively, having each had a long wait to play at the global finals.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/south-africa/W2ijYvlr/"]South Africa[/a] are making their first appearance since 2010 and the Czechs have not been to the World Cup since 2006.[/p][p]Bafana’s record on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/usa/fuitL4CF/"]United States[/a] soil reads played eight, won one, drawn three and lost four, not an altogether encouraging statistic as there have also been some heavy defeats along the way.[/p][p]The first was a chastening experience when they played Mexico in a friendly in Los Angeles in 1993 and lost 4-0. It was the first time they had played a team from outside the African continent as they battled to reach the required level for international football.[/p][embed guid="680fb09b-6171-4016-a47e-d3f9ce76451b" url="https://x.com/BafanaBafana/status/2067156097937424698?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]It would be another seven years before they returned, having been invited to the US Cup, but things did not get much better.[/p][p]Coach Trott Moloto’s side lost 4-0 to the United States in Washington and then 4-2 to Mexico in Dallas, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mccarthy-benni/d4ZZqbQc/"]Benni McCarthy[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mngomeni-thabo/Uwk6p0Jt/"]Thabo Mngomeni[/a] on the scoresheet.[/p][p]They capped off a dismal tournament with a 2-1 loss to the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/czech-republic/6LHwBDGU/"]Republic of Ireland[/a] in New York as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bartlett-shaun/IiJQTxVI/"]Shaun Bartlett[/a] scored.[/p][p]The team would return to United States soil for the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where they were significantly more competitive.[/p][p]They defeated Mexico 2-1 in their opener in Carson, as the unlikely figure of Phil Evans and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-heerden-elrio/riW4360l/"]Elrio van Heerden[/a] were on the scoresheet.[/p][p]They followed that up with a 3-3 draw in Los Angeles with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/jamaica/CWmDb3zj/"]Jamaica[/a], a game in which they led on three occasions but could not close it out.[/p][p]Abram Raselemane, Lungisani Ndlela and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nomvethe-siyabonga/0jg7VD18/"]Siyabonga Nomvethe[/a] got the goals.[/p][embed guid="4a9bb95a-cbe2-4b53-a790-f2de9bfbe471" url="https://x.com/BafanaBafana/status/2066789234011152810?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Their final group game was a 1-1 draw with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/guatemala/8KhCLQs3/"]Guatemala[/a] in Houston, where [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nkosi-siyabonga/0d0p1PRA/"]Siyabonga Nkosi[/a] equalised, enough to send them into the quarterfinals.[/p][p]There they faced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/panama/OWKqbCfi/"]Panama[/a], also in Houston, and drew 1-1, but would go out 5-3 on penalties. Ndlela scored in the game, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/katza-ricardo/buBtwbim/"]Ricardo Katza[/a] missed his penalty.[/p][p]Bafana have therefore conceded 20 goals in eight games on United States soil, with five of those coming after the 80th minute. They managed to score 10 themselves.[/p]