World Cup Previews: Group A
Could you, or a loved one, have World Cup Fever? Symptoms include, but are not limited to, organising your work’s sweepstake, having a wall chart up, buying a pack of stickers at the checkout, and convincing yourself that Ivan Toney’s goals in Saudi Arabia are meaningful. Get yourself tested today.
However you feel about the frankly shambolic off-field organisation, it’s hard not to succumb to the familiar giddy warmth you felt as a child in the build up to the greatest tournament in all of sport. This year really could be your year, and with a record 48 teams travelling to North America for this year’s finals, more people than ever will be represented on the biggest stage. We have some plucky debutants, your usual cast of World Cup regulars, and some giants left at home. No matter who you support, the drama is sure to captivate you. The World Cup reminds me why I fell in love with football. Uzbekistan vs DR Congo. It truly is the world’s game.
Anyway, I suppose we should get started with the previews! Starting with the tantalisingly tough to call Group A:
Czechia
Qualification
The Czech’s did it the hard way, just about pipping minnows Faroe Islands to a second placed finish in their qualification group behind Croatia on the final day, before coming from 2-0 down to beat Ireland on penalties in the first play-off round. They took another 2-2 draw all the way to a shootout in the final, this time beating Denmark to secure their place at the finals for the first time in 20 years.
Their reward for such a bumpy pathway into the tournament is what many would consider a favourable group draw. There are no classic whipping-boys in there to stick 5 past for some morale, but there also aren’t any teams that jump out as clear favourites. Czechia could just as easily win the group or crash out with 0 points, and neither would be particularly surprising. With Mexico and South Korea’s brightest stars beginning to fade, this could be a great opportunity for Miroslav Koubek’s men to reach the knockout rounds for the first time since 1990.
One To Watch
National team captain and Wolves defender Ladislav Krejci will be key, despite having a horrendous season for his club. But, if you’re talking key men for this Czech side, it’s hard to look much further than the big man up top, Patrick Schick.
The Leverkusen centre-forward is coming into the summer in red-hot form, with 9 goals in his last 8 Bundesliga outings. He also managed to net 5 in 8 qualifying matches, so his shooting boots don’t get lost on the baggage carousel when he reports to international duty either. In fact, he is his country’s fourth highest goalscorer with 25 in 52 caps, and will go joint third if he manages just a single goal in North America this summer. All the more motivation.
His fitness record can be called into question, but when he’s at his best and firing there aren’t many more dependable strikers at this tournament. The rest of Group A will have to stay on their toes to keep him at bay.
Mexico
Qualification
As one of three hosts of this summer’s tournament, they didn’t have to qualify. They did, however, beat the US in the Gold Cup final last July, and have played a string of friendlies against some quality opposition, achieving some impressive results along the way. Of course, you can only read so much into friendlies, but draws against Portugal and Belgium, as well as victories over Ghana, Iceland, and Bolivia, are nothing to be sniffed at. The Gold Cup win will give them plenty of confidence going into this home tournament. This is by no means a vintage Mexico side but, with the crowds behind them, they’re capable of upsetting anyone on their day.
One To Watch
40 year-old Guillermo Ochoa looks set to make an appearance at his fourth consecutive World Cup, but there’s a boy less than half his age coming through the ranks of the El Tricolor midfield that is sure to catch the eye of a few suitors at the world’s biggest clubs if he performs to the level he is capable of.
Gilberto Mora is the youngest player ever to make a senior appearance for the Mexican national team, debuting in the 2025 Gold Cup aged just 16. Now, at the ripe old age of 17 and with 6 caps to his name, he’s ready to take the World Cup by storm on home turf. He has already cemented himself as a mainstay in the Tijuana midfield, with 53 first team appearances and 10 goals under his belt with his 18th birthday still far in the future. He can be deployed down the left-hand side or more centrally, and is a strong dribbler, passer, and finisher.
There’s a reason he made it into the national team at just 16, Mora has all the tools of an elite attacking midfield player, and with rumours of Milan circling it may not be long before he is thrust into the limelight on European shores. Could this tournament be the first major chapter in the story of an eventual world-beater?
South Africa
Qualification
Bafana Bafana ran out surprise winners in their qualifying group, topping the pile over Nigeria by a single point and assuring one of Africa’s biggest and most successful nations missed out on the World Cup altogether. It could’ve been smoother sailing too, had South Africa not been forced to forfeit a 2-0 victory into a 0-3 loss against Lesotho for fielding an ineligible player. Still, despite their own best efforts, South Africa made it to their first World Cup finals since hosting in 2010.
They’ve had AFCON to deal with in the meantime, too. Putting up yet another solid group stage showing before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat to Cameroon in the first knockout stage. They are probably the least fancied team in this group, but I wouldn’t quite write them off just yet. Long-standing manager Hugo Broos has his side well drilled and they have enough quality at their disposal to give you a bloody nose if you haven’t got your guard up.
One To Watch
South Africa aren’t a side that score a lot of goals, and will rely on the defensive solidity from their stellar qualifying campaign carrying forward into the finals. Young centre-half Mbekezeli Mbokazi could hold the key to that success.
The 20 year old defender left his native South Africa to join Chicago Fire in January of this year, and has taken to life in the MLS like a duck to water. Handy experience for a World Cup in North America. He has 10 national team caps already, and with plenty of first team experience across his time at Orlando Pirates and in Chicago, he is already developing into a wise head on young shoulders. At only 5’10”, you may expect him to be more in the mould of a modern, passing centre half, but he is far from it. What he lacks in height he makes up for in determination, and he has proven himself to be a formidable opponent in the MLS that attackers continually struggle to cope with in ground duels. His weakness, of course, is aerially, but he has plenty of gargantuan teammates to make up for his shortcomings in that particular area.
Mbokazi has already broken onto the scene in the US, and this World Cup could be where he starts to make a name for himself on a global scale. Attackers from any of these sides won’t want to face him in his home away from home with the roar of the vuvuzelas behind him.
South Korea
Qualification
South Korea enjoyed a dominant unbeaten qualifying campaign, comfortably breezing past their opposition in Asia to seal their place in North America for the summer. Of course this is to be expected of a team as flush with talent as the South Koreans are, particularly when compared to their peers in Asia, but after they lost in uncharacteristically weak fashion to Jordan in the 2024 Asian Cup, some feared they may struggle to convert talent into on-field success. Fortunately for them, that wasn’t the case, and one of the World Cup’s staple teams are here again to show what they’re made of in 2026. As discussed earlier, this is a favourable group draw for the Koreans as there are no superstar teams to face off against. They have the big names, can they produce performances to back up the hype?
One To Watch
I could try and go for the hipster choice and tell you just how important Sanfrecce centre-half Ju-Sung Kim is. Or even play it relatively safe and highlight the skills of PSG’s Lee Kang-In. However, even at 33 years old, Heung-Min Son is still the man.
Son has 54 goals in 144 games for his national team and counting, and has a strong case for being the single greatest Asian footballer of all time, never mind just South Korean. I don’t need to tell you how good Son is at football. His longevity at the top level across the Bundesliga, Spurs, and now LAFC in MLS speaks for itself. His finishing ability is world class, but he has decided to swap his scoring boots out to turn provider this season, with 8 assists already in just 13 MLS games.
Simply put, Heung-Min Son is a defining footballer of his generation that has changed the way the game is viewed across the entirety of his home nation and beyond into the rest of Asia. In what will almost certainly be his final World Cup hurrah, South Korea have a fantastic shot at reaching the knockouts in his new home of the United States. That is, if he can dig out those shooting boots of his.
Prediction
1. Mexico
2. South Korea
3. Czechia
4. South Africa
With everyone capable of beating each other, all four sides involved in Group A’s action will be hoping to make it through to the next round. I think Mexico’s home advantage will be enough to edge them in front of the rest of the pack, with South Korea and Czechia’s squads proving too strong for South Africa despite their qualifying successes.
We could see a low-scoring group here too, particularly in the opening rounds, as everyone will be aware of how valuable just a single extra point could be with the advancement of the 8 best 3rd placed teams being introduced in this tournament.
Mexico and South Africa kick off the entire tournament on the 11th of June with a huge clash at Mexico City stadium. Strap in folks, the World Cup is just a fortnight away.