World Cup 2026 Group A: Mexico · South Korea · South Africa · Czech Republic

Group A opens the 2026 World Cup with Mexico hosting the ceremonial first match at the Estadio Azteca — the only stadium ever to have staged three World Cups. El Tri enters with the comfort of home ground but also the burden of a country that has not passed the Round of 16 at a World Cup since 1986. The new 48-team format is unforgiving toward hosts that stumble early, and a run at the Azteca now carries its own knockout-level pressure from matchday one.

South Korea are the most experienced Asian side on the pitch, with eleven World Cup appearances and a 2002 fourth-place finish in their own backyard. Under a new post-Klinsmann regime, they will still be leaning on Son Heung-min for his final bow. The Czech Republic, meanwhile, return from a 20-year World Cup absence carrying the physicality and set-piece discipline that made Czechoslovakia runners-up twice. FIFA's 42nd-ranked side is easy to underestimate and hard to break down, exactly the kind of opponent that can spoil a host nation's party.

South Africa, bronze medalists of AFCON 2023, represent the dark horse of this group. With a young squad coached by Hugo Broos, Bafana Bafana navigated one of CAF's cleanest qualifying campaigns. In the new format's third-place scenario, even a single win here plus a disciplined draw could send them through to the Round of 32.