FIFA forced to step in as World Cup teams clash behind the scenes

South Africa's jubilant scenes following their triumph over South Korea were marred by a heated confrontation between the two nations behind closed doors. The Bafana Bafana were instructed to 'please show some respect' after interrupting interviews being given by South Korea's players in the mixed zone.

The African nation advanced from Group A into the last-32 at the World Cup, courtesy of Thapelo Maseko's strike. The result saw them climb above South Korea into second spot, while Son Heung-min's squad must now await their fate to discover whether they progress as one of the leading third-place sides.

South Africa's players made their way through the mixed zone, singing loudly in recognition of their accomplishment, generating sufficient volume to overwhelm the interviews that South Korea's stars were giving. Journalists and national team staff requested the group to lower their voices, but this reportedly only encouraged the victors further.

It is claimed that one South African team official reduced his walking speed while moving through the zone and adopted a 'confrontational attitude' when a South Korean colleague signalled for them to speed up.

Feyenoord star Hwang In-beom could not contain himself at this juncture and glared at the official beofre stopping his interview and yelling: "Hurry up and move.

"Please show some respect," he added.

Tensions escalated at this stage before FIFA media personnel and the South Korean national team staff defused the incident. Hwang was even able to continue with his interview.

"Rather than pointing to a specific cause, the poor result came because we were lacking in many areas overall," he said.

"Anything I say will sound like an excuse. Ultimately, we lost because we weren't good enough, and if we are given another opportunity, we will need to approach it with more desperation."

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Hwang Hee-chan said: "The result is obviously very disappointing. Personally, I feel a great sense of regret that I couldn't capitalise on various chances or produce a result from the front, and I feel sorry for my teammates."

Former Tottenham star Son, who started the match from the bench despite his 56 goals in 147 caps, was left frustrated at his inability to make a greater impact against South Africa. The LAFC attacker was not impactful during his second-half appearance and issued an apology to his team-mates afterwards.

"It's so frustrating that the match didn't go the way we wanted it to, and we as players are obviously very disappointed," Son said. "I feel sorry to my teammates that I didn't give them much help on the pitch."