The 22‑year‑old missed several opportunities in the Group A decider before finally scoring the decisive goal in the 63rd minute, sending South Africa through to the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
He had not featured for the national team for over a year prior to his loan move to Cypriot side AEL Limassol which has revived his career and led to Hugo Broos including him in his squad for the tournament in North America.
“It’s unbelievable, it’s amazing, I feel like I’m dreaming,” said Maseko to SABC Sport after the match.
“I would like to thank everyone, our supporters back home, our families, our coaching staff and the players, they believed in me. Ey, today I was missing hey, I missed some goals and missed some chances, but we prevailed, and I was able to help the team and that is all that matters.
“I have been watching games, I’ve been watching top players, I’ve been watching Vini’s [Vinicius Jr] and your Mbappe’s [Kylian] they don’t just give up after the first miss, the second miss, the third miss, they go on and on and on and eventually even on the tenth chance they score.”
Man of the Match Maseko has now scored twice in his nine appearances for the national team and will be expected to start the Round of 32 clash against Canada on Sunday.