World Cup Group A Preview
It's World Cup time, starting with Group A. I'll be running through each group, giving my preview of each team and an overall prediction of each group and the ceiling and floor of every team in the tournament before the tournament kicks off on Thursday with Mexico vs South Africa.
Group A fixtures (all kick-off times are in BST)
Mexico vs South Africa 11th June 8pm
South Korea vs Czechia 12th June 3am
Czechia vs South Africa 18th June 5pm
Mexico vs South Korea 19th June 2am
South Africa vs South Korea 25th June 2am
Czechia vs Mexico 25th June 2am
Mexico
One of the most consistent teams at every World Cup, being at every single tournament since 1994 and making it out of the groups at all but one of those tournaments, having hosted twice before in 1970 and 1986; in both of those tournaments, Mexico went deep and made the Quarter-finals.
The 2026 squad is very similar to most Mexico squads in previous years: a very high-floor team given the strength of the domestic league compared to most countries at the tournament but lacking a big-name star, which previous squads had like Rafa Marquez and Javier Hernandez. The closest thing they have to those guys are Edson Alvarez and Santiago Gimenez, who play for Fenerbahçe and AC Milan, respectively, but particularly in Gimenez's case, have been in terrible form for their clubs this season, as Gimenez has failed to reproduce his outstanding Feyenoord form for AC Milan since joining in the January window in 2026.
The X-factor for this team is Gilberto Mora, a number 10/half-winger whose style echoes Andrés Iniesta if he reaches his full potential. Despite being just 17 years old, he has already been dubbed Mexico's next great talent. While he isn't guaranteed a starting spot, regular minutes and a deep tournament run for Mexico will send the hype around him into overdrive and undoubtedly have European clubs circling for his signature.
What Mexico may well suffer from is the same thing England and Turkey have suffered from: if they start the tournament badly in the first game against South Africa, the atmosphere in the stadiums and Media could turn sour quickly, and given the football-obsessed nature of the people of Mexico, the expectations and pressure could become too much to handle, leading to an early exit.
The floor of this team is the round of 32, in my opinion. I can't see them getting knocked out in the groups, given the group they have been drawn into, but I don't think they have the high-end talent to worry some of the big boys in the latter stage, meaning their ceiling is probably the Quarter-finals.
South Korea
South Korea are another World Cup staple at this point, having not missed a tournament since 1982, including a 4th-placed finish at their home World Cup in 2002, but other than that run they have never progressed past the round of 16, a stage they reached in 2022, including a memorable win over Portugal to see them progress to the knockout round over Uruguay and Ghana before getting soundly beaten by Brazil in the round of 16.
While in 2022 they had Son Heung-Min at full power, he is no longer at that world-class level, but the squad around him is stronger than it was in 2022. Lee Kang-in, while he isnt a starter at club level for PSG, he get regular minutes in the best team in the world. Oh Hyeon-Gyu has 16 goal contributions this season for Genk and Besiktas, which should lift the goal-scoring burden off of Son. Kim Min-jae, like Lee Kang-In, he isnt a regular starter at club level but gets plenty of minutes for Bayern Munich in the league and the rest of the starting level for the most part, playing their club football across Europe; they are definitely not going to get blown out in any games, and Mexico will expect to win the group my main concern for them is physicality specifically against Czechia in the groups who as i will get onto have brought a basketball team to this world cup but they are a very techincally gifted side who posses the ability on their day to beat anyone at this world cup
The X factor for this team, though, is still Son Heung-Min; the former Spurs man is already probably the most famous person in Korea, and while he hasn't set MLS on fire this season, he has likely been saving himself for what is almost certainly his last World Cup and his last hurrah on the world stage, and another knockout berth would be seen as a success for this South Korean team.
The floor for this team is getting grouped just because of the stylistic matchup with the Czechs and South Africans, but I don't think this is likely, and the ceiling is like Mexico in the quarter-finals due to the lack of world-class talent compared to the big boys at this tournament.
South Africa
The first time at a World Cup since they hosted in 2010, they won a qualifying group that included Nigeria in it despite having a three-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho; they are certainly no mugs, but this squad isnt as strong as the squad from 2010 that included Steven Pienaar and Siphiwe Tshabalala, but despite lacking the star names, they are a young squad who mostly play in the South African league which is one of the best domestic leagues in Africa which pays well and has big stadiums so the stadium size wont overwhelm them unlike some of the other weaker nations at this world cup
While some guys are playing in Europe, like Lyle Foster of Burnley and Ime Okon, who plays for Hannover 96, the best players in the team like Teboho Mokoena and Oswin Appollis haven't ever left South Africa, so it remains to be seen how well they can compete with the world's elite given the lack of exposure they have had to elite-level football but they will be fun at the very least and with only 6 of the 26 man squad aged 30 or over this group will mostly stick together and id expect them to be back in 2030, despite the brutal nature of African qualifying, when hopefully some of their young guys have moved to Europe and play for some of the best teams in the world.
Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Thapelo Maseko are the two young guys to watch out for; Mbokazi is a centre back who looks to drive forward with the ball, and his catalogue of goals is one of the best in the tournament. I think he will score an unbelievable goal at some point in the tournament, whether that is from a free kick or a long shot from miles out. He is very prime David Luiz in how he plays the game. Maseko plays in Cyprus, which you might scoff at, but look at how well the Cypriot teams did in Europe this season; that is a very competitive league and has been very consistent since January. He is a tricky winger who can beat a man and provide for teammates as well as look to score himself.
The most likely outcome for this team is to get knocked out in the group, but I'd be surprised if they don't get at least a point in this world cup
Czechia
You would probably imagine a country like Czechia had plenty of success in football given the players they have had, including a Ballon d'Or winner in Pavel Nedved, but since Czechoslovakia split up in 1993, this is only the second World Cup they have qualified for and the first since 2006, when they got grouped. The aim will undoubtedly be to reach the knockout rounds for the first time as Czechia.
The squad lacks top-level talent and is relying heavily on its domestic league to round out the squad, but what they do have is consistent physicality from the likes of Tomas Soucek and Ladislav Krejci, who, despite not being great at club level this season, both got relegated from the Premier League. When they put on a Czech shirt, they elevate their performances drastically; just look at the playoffs that got them to this point. In the first round, they went 2-0 down to Ireland, but who stepped up? Krejci. He planted a header into the net in the 86th minute to level the tie, which they won on penalties, with Krejci and Soucek scoring their penalties. Then in the final, Krejci (who is a centre-back) scored again in extra time to give them the lead. While they were pegged back, they again won on penalties to qualify for the World Cup.
The Czech X factor is undoubtedly Pavel Sulc; while the rest of the team are generally really tall, really physical players, Sulc is the one guy in the team who can create something out of nothing in open play, with his 17 goal contribution for Lyon this season finally giving Patrick Schick and Adam Hlozek a creator in the forward areas to create for them so they can put the ball in the back of the net. The squad is rounded out by guys like Vladimir Coufal and Vladimir Darida, who, while in the twilight of their club careers at 33 and 35 years of age, have plenty of top-level European football under their belts and will not be flustered by the rowdy Mexican crowds.
The floor of this team is the round of 32, and the ceiling is the round of 16; they can be dangerous given their strength from set pieces, but any team on the level of the Frances and Spains of the world should comfortably beat them.
Predictions
In my predictions, South Korea progresses as one of the 8 best 3rd place teams.
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