Hugo Broos took aim at the “big mouths” who had questioned his approach after South Africa made history by qualifying for the World Cup knockout stages for the first time.

Bafana Bafana beat South Korea 1-0 in Monterrey – Thapelo Maseko scoring the only goal in the second half – to finish second in Group A and advance to a round of 32 clash with Canada in Los Angeles on Sunday evening.

Broos came in for criticism after South Africa only took a point from their first two games with Mexico and Czechia and was delighted to silence his critics.

“I’m very proud of the performance of my team and I think we gave an answer to all those big mouths of the last weeks that thought that we had to change something,” said Belgian Broos.

“We just did what we did. We just did what I wanted to do and this is the result.”

South Africa will be ready for Canada test – Broos

Broos, 74, is confident his players can spring another shock when they take on the tournament co-hosts at the weekend.

He added: “I just know that the players will be ready again and try to achieve the third round.

“It should be even more historic. But those players are chasing those things. Those players want to prove to everyone and to show that they are a good team. So we will see next Sunday if we can go further.”

I made the wrong decisions, admits Hong

South Korea’s fate remains uncertain. They are currently among the teams that would go through as a best third-placed finisher but, with more games to come, that situation could change.

Deflated coach Hong Myung-bo left star man Son Heung-min on the bench and watched the decision backfire as the Asian giants produced a limp display.

“Ultimately, it comes down to me,” he said. “I guess I made the wrong decisions and that was the reason why we had a bad result. Nothing more, nothing less.

“We thought that Son Heung-min would be better placed when they were losing their energy, and when we could see more spaces.

“That’s why we wanted Son to be at his strongest, and the opponent to be a bit weaker.”