BBC pundit Sutton predicts South Korea will beat South Africa 2-0 to secure Group A runner-up spot

BBC pundit Chris Sutton, who has built a reputation for accurate predictions at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, is backing South Korea to win their final group-stage match and advance as runners-up in Group A.

South Korea, coached by Hong Myung-bo, face South Africa in the Group A finale at Estadio Universitario in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, at 10 a.m. Thursday (Korean Standard Time).

With a round-of-16 berth on the line, foreign media observers are leaning toward a convincing South Korean victory.

Sutton, who has earned the nickname "human octopus" for his forecasting accuracy at this tournament, predicted South Korea would beat South Africa 2-0. He correctly called the outcomes of 26 of 48 group-stage matches across the first two rounds, including his prediction that South Korea would fall 1-2 to Mexico on June 19.

Sutton's reasoning centers on the gap in quality between the two sides. "South Africa only kept their knockout hopes alive thanks to a late penalty equalizer against the Czech Republic, and their overall performance was well below par," he said. He added that South Korea play "a much better brand of football" than South Africa, and predicted they would "create plenty of chances by breaking down the South African defense, much as Mexico did before them."

South Korea sit on three points with one win and one loss, and are looking to build on their comeback victory over the Czech Republic on June 12 to lock up second place in the group.