World Cup Group A: Preview, Teams & Expert Insights
The 2026 World Cup will kick off with two Group A matches in Mexico on Thursday, June 11. Although Group A features one of the host countries of the 2026 World Cup, this group is seen as the weakest in the new 48-team format. The World Cup soccer futures show 60-1 odds for any Group A team to win the World Cup, highlighting the relative weakness of these four teams.
Odds to win Group A
Mexico +105
Czechia +230
South Korea +350
South Africa +1350
Co-hosts Mexico are the clear favorites to win Group A. Mexico made it out of the Group Stage (before losing in the Round of 16) for seven straight World Cups between 1994 and 2018, but El Tri crashed out of the Group Stage in Qatar due to a 0-0 draw to Poland in their opening match. The co-hosts will have home field advantage in all three of their Group Stage matches with two of those tilts being played in the famed Estadio Azteca.
Odds to win World Cup for Group A Teams
Mexico +9000
Czechia +40000
South Korea +45000
South Africa +150000
Oddsmakers do not think much of Group A. Mexico has the best odds to win the World Cup at a whopping 90-1, putting the co-hosts behind more than a dozen other teams. No team in this group has previously won the World Cup either, but Czechia did finish runner-up twice when they were Czechoslovakia back in 1934 and 1962.
Match Schedule
Mexico vs. South Africa, June 11, 2026, at 1 p.m. ET from Estadio Azteca in Mexico City (Match 1)
South Korea vs. Czechia, June 11, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET from Estadio Akron in Zapopan (Match 2)
Czechia vs. South Africa, June 18, 2026, at 12 p.m. ET from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia (Match 25)
Mexico vs. South Korea, June 18, 2026, at 7 p.m. ET from Estadio Akron in Zapopan (Match 28)
Czechia vs. Mexico, June 24, 2026, at 7 p.m. ET from Estadio Azteca in Mexico City (Match 53)
South Africa vs. South Korea, June 24, 2026, at 7 p.m. ET from Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe (Match 54)
Group A Team Previews
Mexico
El Tri will be without first-choice goalkeeper Luis Angel Malagon for the World Cup. Malagon suffered a torn ACL during a CONCACAF Champions League match in March, sidelining him for a minimum of six months. Guadalajara goalkeeper Raul Rangel was in the net for Mexico’s March friendlies against Portugal and Belgium, and Santos Laguna’s Carlos Acevedo has six caps too.
Malagon’s injury might set the stage for Guillermo Ochoa to make World Cup history. Ochoa is one of five players ever to play in five different World Cups, and he would be the first player to ever take part in six World Cups if he takes the pitch in June. The long-time Mexico goalkeeper was called up for El Tri’s friendlies after Malagon was ruled out. However, it seems unlikely that Ochoa would earn a start as he will be 41 in July, and he is currently playing in Cyprus.
Mexico have an experienced back line led by Lokomotiv Moscow’s Cesar Montes and Genoa’s Johan Vasquez. Jesus Gallardo is the most experienced player in defense with 118 caps to his credit, while former Ajax defender Jorge Sanchez has been in the starting lineup of late too.
Midfielder Luis Romo has been dealing with injuries and might not be available for the World Cup, and fellow midfielder Marcel Ruiz will also miss the World Cup due to a knee injury. Tigres UANL standout Diego Lainez has not played for the national team since January even though manager Javier Aguirre has been fielding teams exclusively made of Liga MX players recently, while captain Edson Alvarez may not be fit for the World Cup after undergoing ankle surgery in February. Fortunately, it looks like 17-year-old phenom Gilberto Mora will be good to go after being cleared in April.
These injuries have left major questions in Mexico’s midfield ahead of the World Cup. There were four midfielders with at least 20 caps on Mexico’s roster for the friendlies in late March, but the only one of those players that is an offensive threat is Orbelin Pineda. The AEK Athens star has 12 goals in 90 matches with the national team.
Fulham’s Raul Jimenez is going to be the primary forward for Mexico this summer. Jimenez has notched 44 goals in 123 matches with El Tri, and he is still playing at a high level despite turning 35 shortly before the World Cup. There is a real question concerning who the other forwards will be though as Hirving Lozano has not been called up to national duty since November.
Czechia
Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia into Czechia and Slovakia, we have not seen much success from this former powerhouse. This will be Czechia’s second World Cup appearance since 1990, and their only previous victory in this tournament came in the 2006 World Cup when Czechia hammered the United States 3-0 in its opening match. However, they were defeated 2-0 by Ghana and Italy in their next two matches, leading to a Group Stage exit.
Czechia do not have an experienced goalkeeper on the international stage. Matej Kovar has just 19 caps for his country, but the PSV backstop spent years at Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen. Kovar has been the first-choice goalkeeper for PSV this season, and he has been an instrumental part of the club winning its third straight Eredivisie title.
New captain Ladislav Krejci isn’t the most veteran member of Czechia’s back line, but he put his country ahead in extra time of their eventual win over Denmark to secure a spot in the World Cup. TSG Hoffenheim’s Vladimir Coufal is the most experienced defender on the squad with 61 caps, and his club and country teammate Robin Hranac is expected to be in the Starting XI too.
Standout midfielder Tomas Soucek was stripped of his captaincy in November after Czechia failed to acknowledge the home crowd after a win over Gibraltar. Any doubts of manager Miroslav Koubek leaving Soucek off the squad were quickly alleviated though as Soucek was in the middle of the formation for all 120 minutes and notched a goal in penalties against Denmark. Soucek is the most experienced player on the team with 89 appearances, and he has scored 17 goals for Czechia.
Patrik Schick is the player to watch on this team. The Bayer Leverkusen star has scored 25 goals in 52 matches for Czechia, making him the main attacking threat that defenses will try to stop. The other likely callups at forward all play domestically, and none of those players have proven to be a major offensive threat.
South Korea
This will be the 10th straight World Cup appearance for South Korea. The Taegeuk Warriors made it all the way to the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup, and they made it to the knockout rounds in 2010 and 2022. Unfortunately, they were dismantled 4-1 by Brazil during the last iteration of this competition with Brazil scoring all four of its goals in the first 36 minutes of action.
Son Heung-min is the undisputed star of this squad. He is the most capped player in South Korean history, and he needs five more goals to be the country’s all-time leading scorer. His star has waned a bit, but Tottenham fans are crying out for his return given the club’s relegation battle, and he has been a playmaker during his time in the MLS. No other player called up in the last year has scored more than 16 goals for South Korea.
There is quite a bit of talent in the South Korean midfield. Lee Kang-in looks to be the country’s next big star and has scored 11 goals in 46 matches. Kang-in sees routine action with defending European champions Paris Saint-Germain too. Lee Jae-sung is a very experienced midfielder with over 100 caps, and Hwang Hee-chan is another solid player that can make things happen.
South Africa
The oddsmakers aren’t giving South Africa much hope at the 2026 World Cup. Bafana Bafana failed to make it out of the Round of 16 in the Africa Cup of Nations in January, and they couldn’t beat Panama in two attempts on home soil in late March. This will be South Africa’s fourth appearance at the World Cup, but they have never made it out of the Group Stage with just two victories to their credit in three previous appearances.
Most of South Africa’s squad is likely to come from domestic clubs. Only a handful of players are a part of major European leagues, so there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to how this team will fare. Lyle Foster is likely to be the main attacking threat, and the Burnley veteran has scored 10 goals in 26 matches with South Africa. Minnesota United’s Bongokuhle Hlongwane is another player to keep an eye on during the attack, while Hannover 96’s Ime Okon looks to be a promising young defender.
