Hosts Mexico kicks-off Group A when hosting South Africa in Mexico City on June 11th. Read Nick Seddon’s in-depth preview, tipping the hosts to prevail and advance this summer.
World Cup 2026 Group A Preview: Mighty Mexico
The World Cup is finally here and punters have a whopping 12 groups to get stuck into, as the tournament expands to 48 teams for the first time. This year’s edition is going to be a mixed bag for European fans in terms of kick-off times and it’s certainly safe to say that the opening group will be one for the night owls.
Joint-hosts Mexico will be keen to make use of home advantage, though Czechia, South Korea and South Africa will all fancy their chances in an open-looking group. We’ve taken an in-depth look at Group A and picked out our best bets for you below.
H2: World Cup 2026 Group A: World Rankings
-Mexico – Ranked 15th
-South Korea – Ranked 25th
-Czechia – Ranked 41st
-South Africa – Ranked 60th
World Cup 2026 Group A Fixtures (UK Time)
-Mexico v South Africa, Thursday 11th June (8pm), Mexico City
-South Korea v Czechia, Friday 12th June (3am), Guadalajara
-Czechia v South Africa, Thursday 18th June (5pm), Atlanta
-Mexico v South Korea, Friday 19th June (2am), Guadalajara
-South Africa v South Korea, Thursday 25th June (2am), Monterrey
-Czechia v Mexico, Thursday 25th June (2am), Mexico City
World Cup 2026 Group A: Preview
The opening group looks to revolve around the co-hosts, who will be keen to get off to a good start on Thursday 11th June. We’ve taken an in-depth look at everything for you below.
Mexico (1.94 to win Group A)
As joint-hosts, Mexico have the honour of playing the opening game and are odds-on favourites to win this group. Javier Aguirre’s men have been handed a kind-looking draw and sit comfortably clear on world rankings, meaning they will be confident of reaching the knockout phase for the eighth time in their last nine finals appearances.
Having qualified automatically, they’ve been without competitive football for a good chunk of time now, though they did win the second-tier CONCACAF Gold Cup last summer and have picked up impressive friendly draws of late against European heavyweights Belgium and Portugal. Mexico will likely be more pragmatic than you may expect for a Latin American nation associated with free-flowing football, especially with robust Fulham frontman Raúl Jiménez up top.
An honourable mention must also go to 40-year-old goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who’s been called up for a sixth tournament. Conditions will likely be tough and a huge home support will certainly play into the Mexicans’ hands. They will be confident of starting well against South Africa, who held them to a draw as hosts in the 2010 tournament, and a strong first result will put them well on their way.
H3: Czechia (3.10)
It took two penalty shootout victories against Ireland and Denmark in the play-offs, but Czechia make their first finals appearance since exiting at the group stage in 2006. The Czechs haven’t had quite as much time for warm-up games as everyone else, though they were fairly solid in the main stage of qualifying barring an embarrassing defeat to the Faroe Islands, finishing second behind tournament regulars Croatia.
Czechia have finished as runners-up on two occasions when known as Czechoslovakia (in 1934 and 1962), though a more realistic aim here is the knockout stages. They have plenty of players in the top divisions across Europe, including West Ham midfielder Tomáš Souček. Expect a side that’s well-drilled and hard to break down, but they seem likely to struggle for goals, meaning they may have to settle for second place.
H3: South Korea (4.15)
South Korea are the second best side in the group on world rankings, though they have work to do if they’re to finish in the top two. The Taegeuk Warriors sealed their berth at the tournament comfortably, topping a group that included Iraq, Oman and Jordan, though the Asian section isn’t always the most reliable in terms of translating form onto the world stage.
South Korea won’t be without their supporters, with plenty having a soft spot for them after their last-gasp win over Portugal that sealed a last-16 spot four years ago. There are several recognisable names in their squad, though main man Son Heung-min is heading into the twilight of his career these days.
Head coach Hong Myung-bo has previous with his country at the World Cup, overseeing a swift exit at the 2014 tournament and he looks up against it once again with several injuries to contend with. Recent defeats in warm up games to Ivory Coast and Austria means that there will be an onus on keeping things tight in the opener against Czechia, meaning goals will likely be at a premium.
H3: South Africa (12.30)
South Africa are due to make their fourth appearance at a World Cup finals and their first since hosting the event in 2010, though very few have given them any hope of a prolonged run. Bafana Bafana took a huge scalp when pipping Nigeria to the automatic berth in qualifying, though they dropped points against minnows Zimbabwe and Rwanda in that campaign and even forfeited a result to Lesotho.
Only seven players in the 26-man squad ply their trade outside of their home country, including Burnley forward Lyle Foster, and this looks a huge ask for a nation best known for their prowess on the rugby pitch. Recent warm up games against fairly small punchers in Panama (1-1 draw, 2-1 loss) and Nicaragua (0-0 draw) haven’t borne an awful lot of fruit and the onus in their opener against the joint-hosts will surely be on keeping the score down.
Group A Selections
Back Mexico to win World Cup 2026 Group A @ 1.94 with kwiff
Back Under 2.5 Goals in Czechia v South Korea @ 1.58 with kwiff
By Nick Seddon
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