Cape Verde, South Africa Reach World Cup Last 32 as Uruguay, Türkiye Exit

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jun 28

Cape Verde and South Africa claimed surprise places in the World Cup knockout stage, with Cape Verde advancing on three draws and South Africa beating South Korea 1-0 for its first-ever trip beyond the group phase.
Those results completed a volatile group stage in the 48-team tournament, where Cape Verde held Spain 0-0 and South Africa recovered from an opening 2-0 loss to Mexico that ended with two red cards.
Uruguay became one of the biggest casualties, taking just 2 points in Group H and failing to clear the group stage at back-to-back World Cups for the first time after a 1-0 loss to Spain.
Türkiye also went out despite a late win over the United States, undone by losses to Australia and Paraguay and wasteful finishing that produced 62 shots but only 13 on target in those defeats.
The upsets leave Cape Verde facing Argentina in the Round of 32, while South Africa's advance adds to a tournament already marked by few perfect group campaigns and several unexpected results.