South Africa scored a penalty seven minutes before full-time and fought back to draw 1-1 with the Czech Republic at the World Cup after falling behind early in their Group A clash.
Teboho Mokoena gave South Africa a lease of life after Pavel Sulek's handball on Thursday, followed by a spot kick as they looked towards possible early elimination.
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The Czechs took the lead as early as the sixth minute when Michał Sadilek headed —home]after a clever sliding pass from Aleksandar Sojka following Adam Hlozek's delivery from the right wing.
Both teams now have one point after losing their opening games – two behind South Korea and co-hosts Mexico, who face each other on Thursday.
South Africa will next face South Korea, while the Czech Republic face the tough challenge of playing Mexico at the Estadio Azteca.
Both sides started off with disappointing performances and defeats on the opening day of the World Cup, but the Czechs immediately began to improve.
Patrik Schick is the biggest name in a Czech team that lacks the star quality of previous generations, but the Bayer Leverkusen forward missed a brilliant chance inside the first minute when he fired a header wide.
Miroslav Koubek's side had to wait only five more minutes to take the lead.
Adam Hlozek's cross was brilliantly cushioned by Aleksandar Sojka into the path of Sadilek, who calmly passed the ball to Ronwayn Williams.
Now in their fourth attempt, South Africa have never progressed beyond the group stage at a World Cup.
Hugo Bruce has seen Bafana Bafana's fortunes rise since taking charge five years ago.
The 2010 hosts had not qualified for the World Cup since 2002, but finished third at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
However, their return to the global stage has exposed a lack of quality, especially in the forward areas.
The Czechs were remorseful for not creating more chances to end the game at the start of the second half.
It took a lot of time to give Vladimir Darida a big chance before Lucas Serve's long-range effort was parried by Williams.
There were thousands of empty seats at the show at the future home of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, but attendees loudly criticized the mid-half hydration break in a closed and air-conditioned stadium.
Most of the crowd were supporting South Africa and they finally had something to cheer about seven minutes from time.
Thapelo Maseko's shot hit the unfortunate Paweł Sulk on the arm and referee Tori Penso, part of the all-female umpiring team, pointed to the spot.
Mokoena confidently scored his country's first World Cup goal in 16 years.
They came close to a second five minutes later when Matej Kovar saved from Relebohile Mofokeng.
But both sides had to compromise on a point that could prove crucial at the end of Wednesday's final Group A game.
South Africa coach Hugo Bruce says it is possible for his side to beat South Korea and qualify for the knockout stages if they repeat the mentality of their struggling draw with Czechia.
He said, “I am very proud of our team. This is Bafana Bafana – we love good football, we are aggressive, we create chances. Yes, we made mistakes, but I am very proud of today's performance.”
“The Czech team is powerful and very tall. We performed very well. It's a bit of a pity that it's only 1-1, but we just have to win the game against South Korea, which will also be very difficult.
“If we play with this mentality, it will be possible.”
Czech Republic coach Miroslav Koubáč said his players could not have given anything more.
“I give that performance today a positive rating,” he told local media.
“I can't blame the boys for anything; on the contrary, I can praise them. They gave it absolutely everything, and sometimes it can be more than a victory.”