Mokoena penalty earns South Africa 1-1 World Cup draw with Czech Republic

ATLANTA (AP) — Teboho Mokoena entered Thursday's World Cup clash in tears and left with a grin after his second-half penalty secured a 1-1 result for South Africa against the Czech Republic in Atlanta.

Cameras captured Mokoena weeping during the pre-match national anthem. He later stepped forward from 12 yards and placed his kick beneath Czech goalkeeper Matej Kovar in the 83rd minute.

The spot kick followed a Thapelo Maseko strike from distance that struck the arm of Pavel Sulc inside the penalty area late in the contest.

Michal Sadilek had put the Czech Republic ahead in the sixth minute at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Alexandr Sojka supplied the pass, and Sadilek beat South African keeper Ronwen Williams with a low finish.

Each side arrived having dropped its opening fixture and aware that another defeat would sharply reduce its prospects of reaching the round of 32.

South Africa had drawn heavy scrutiny after falling 2-0 to co-host Mexico, fuelling talk that Bafana Bafana might extend their record of never reaching a World Cup knockout stage — a streak that held even when the country staged the tournament in 2010.

The Czechs, for their part, opened with a 2-1 defeat to South Korea.

Both remain alive in Group A. South Africa meet South Korea on Wednesday, while the Czech Republic face Mexico in a simultaneous fixture.