Fifa World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on Thursday with the opening game being between Mexico and South Africa at the Mexico City Stadium.
The quartet of Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and Czech Republic will slug it out for supremacy in Group A.
Co-hosts Mexico are the highest ranked team in the group, occupying the 15th position in world ranking, while South Africa are the lowest ranked – in 60th spot.
Mexico are playing in the World Cup for the 18th time and they have qualified for the last eight editions of the tournament.
They are the first country to host three World Cups (1970, 1986 and 2026). Their best finishes at the World Cup came in 1970 and 1986 when they were hosts and reached the quarterfinals.
The El Tri have played 60 matches in the World Cup, winning 17, drawing 15 and suffering 28 defeats.
Mexico Key Players At 2026 World Cup:
Guillermo Ochoa, Raul Jimenez, and Santiago Gimenez.
Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa will be playing at his sixth World Cup for his country after he made his debut in the 2006 edition in Germany.
He will join Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the only players to be selected for six World Cup tournaments.
The 40-year-old made his debut for Mexico at the age of 20 in 2005 and he has represented his country 153 times.
For striker Jimenez, he has been a key player for Mexico since making his debut against Denmark in 2013. He has gone on to score 45 goals in 124 appearances for his country.
Mexico coach Javier Aguirre will rely on his experience and precision to get the goals in the tournament.
The 35-year-old is playing at his fourth World Cup for Mexico and he will be hoping to make impact and add to his goals tally.
Santiago Gimenez: the AC Milan forward is a dangerous player on his day and he will be hoping to discover the form that made AC Milan pay €32 million for his signature from Feyenoord in 2025.
Mexico will take on South Africa in their opening match on Thursday, June 11 before facing South Korea eight days later, they will end their first round campaign against Czech Republic on June 25.
Read Also: LIVE: Follow the FIFA 2026 World Cup as it unfolds
South Africa
The Bafana Bafana are making their fourth appearance at the 2026 edition after they finished top of their group ahead of Nigeria.
They are the lowest ranked team in the group, sitting lowly in the 60th position.
The last time they played at the World Cup was when they hosted it in 2010, and they became the first host nation to be eliminated in the group stage since the tournament format switched to one group stage in 1986.
South Africa have only lost three of their nine matches since their debut in 1998. They famously beat France in 2010.
South Korea
South Korea topped the their World Cup qualifiers group with 22 points, winning six and drawing four. They ended the qualifiers unbeaten, scoring 40 and conceding just eight.
South Korea, ranked 25th in the world, have participated in more World Cups than any other Asian country (12) and are the only Asian team to reach the semifinals (2002).
They are also one of five nations to qualify for every World Cup since 1986 (Argentina, Brazil, Germany and Spain).
They will open their campaign against Czech Republic on June 12 before taking on Mexico on June 19 and South Africa on June 25.
Read Also: Africa’s best referee denied entry to US for World Cup
Czech Republic
Czech Republic finished second in Group L of the UEFA zone of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers with 16 points, earning five wins, one draw and two losses.
They defeated Republic of Ireland 4-3 on penalties in the playoffs semi-final before another 3-1 penalty shootout victory over Denmark in the playoffs final to book their place in the tournament.
Czech Republic qualified for the 2026 World Cup by winning their two playoff games in shootouts; against Ireland and then Denmark.
Prediction: Mexico and South Africa are favourites to advance to the second round of the tournament.
Mexico, S’Africa, Czech Rep, S’Korea: Who’ll advance from W’Cup Group A?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on Thursday with the opening game being between Mexico and South Africa at the Mexico City Stadium.
The quartet of Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and Czech Republic will slug it out for supremacy in Group A.
Co-hosts Mexico are the highest ranked team in the group, occupying the 15th position in world ranking, while South Africa are the lowest ranked – in 60th spot.
Mexico are playing in the World Cup for the 18th time and they have qualified for the last eight editions of the tournament.
They are the first country to host three World Cups (1970, 1986 and 2026). Their best finishes at the World Cup came in 1970 and 1986 when they were hosts and reached the quarterfinals.
The El Tri have played 60 matches in the World Cup, winning 17, drawing 15 and suffering 28 defeats.
Mexico Key Players At 2026 World Cup:
Guillermo Ochoa, Raul Jimenez, and Santiago Gimenez.
Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa will be playing at his sixth World Cup for his country after he made his debut in the 2006 edition in Germany.
He will join Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the only players to be selected for six World Cup tournaments.
The 40-year-old made his debut for Mexico at the age of 20 in 2005 and he has represented his country 153 times.
For striker Jimenez, he has been a key player for Mexico since making his debut against Denmark in 2013. He has gone on to score 45 goals in 124 appearances for his country.
Mexico coach Javier Aguirre will rely on his experience and precision to get the goals in the tournament.
The 35-year-old is playing at his fourth World Cup for Mexico and he will be hoping to make impact and add to his goals tally.
Santiago Gimenez: the AC Milan forward is a dangerous player on his day and he will be hoping to discover the form that made AC Milan pay €32 million for his signature from Feyenoord in 2025.
Mexico will take on South Africa in their opening match on Thursday, June 11 before facing South Korea eight days later, they will end their first round campaign against Czech Republic on June 25.
Read Also: LIVE: Follow the FIFA 2026 World Cup as it unfolds
South Africa
The Bafana Bafana are making their fourth appearance at the 2026 edition after they finished top of their group ahead of Nigeria.
They are the lowest ranked team in the group, sitting lowly in the 60th position.
The last time they played at the World Cup was when they hosted it in 2010, and they became the first host nation to be eliminated in the group stage since the tournament format switched to one group stage in 1986.
South Africa have only lost three of their nine matches since their debut in 1998. They famously beat France in 2010.
South Korea
South Korea topped the their World Cup qualifiers group with 22 points, winning six and drawing four. They ended the qualifiers unbeaten, scoring 40 and conceding just eight.
South Korea, ranked 25th in the world, have participated in more World Cups than any other Asian country (12) and are the only Asian team to reach the semifinals (2002).
They are also one of five nations to qualify for every World Cup since 1986 (Argentina, Brazil, Germany and Spain).
They will open their campaign against Czech Republic on June 12 before taking on Mexico on June 19 and South Africa on June 25.
Read Also: Africa’s best referee denied entry to US for World Cup
Czech Republic
Czech Republic finished second in Group L of the UEFA zone of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers with 16 points, earning five wins, one draw and two losses.
They defeated Republic of Ireland 4-3 on penalties in the playoffs semi-final before another 3-1 penalty shootout victory over Denmark in the playoffs final to book their place in the tournament.
Czech Republic qualified for the 2026 World Cup by winning their two playoff games in shootouts; against Ireland and then Denmark.
Prediction: Mexico and South Africa are favourites to advance to the second round of the tournament.
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