The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in just a few days, and the enthusiasm that normally surrounds the event already seems somewhat muted, although to a large extent, any controversy has centered on the U.S. There is the question of FIFA’s greed over ticket prices, compounded by exorbitant transportation costs in some U.S. cities. To get from the center of New York City to the MetLife Stadium and back is usually around US $13 dollars; on match days, the round-trip is going to be US $150 with no concession tickets. The anger over ticket prices has combined with a bloated-looking 48-nation tournament. How much excitement will Ghana vs. Panama, Bosnia vs. Qatar, or Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia generate with the average football fan in the U.S., or with those watching games on televisions around the world?
Then there is also a question mark over how welcoming the U.S. is going to be to arriving fans, particularly those from nations that President Donald Trump doesn’t seem to like. At the apex of this problem lies Iran, a notable soccer power in their own part of the world, who have qualified for six of the last eight tournaments. What are the chances of the team, or at least some of their support staff, being turned back at the immigration desk? Fans from European countries should face fewer problems, but they will have to follow new immigration rules that include listing all their social media accounts.
The outlook for Mexico
Mexico will hopefully be immune from many of these problems, and with the last of the qualifying rounds finally played out, we know who the home side will be facing in a few days. Joining them in Group A are South Korea, South Africa and the Czech Republic. While none of these sides are considered likely to make an extended run in the tournament, they all have realistic hopes of reaching the knockout stages. Indeed, the four teams seem so well-matched that any small mistake could be costly. It is a group that will test a Mexican team that their own fans have concerns about.
The year started well enough for El Tri with coach Javier Aguirre guiding them to two regional trophies, the CONCACAF Nations League Finals and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. With countries wanting to familiarize themselves with the World Cup venues, September brought visits from South Korea and Japan, both games ending in respectable if unspectacular draws. However, the international weekends in October and November saw a series of poor results against South American opponents, the home crowd booing Mexico off the pitch after a dull 0-0 draw with Uruguay.
A lack of seasoned players
There is the feeling that this is not a particularly strong Mexican team, and one that lacks the core of European-based players who can add a backbone of experience to the side. There are plenty of foreign-based players, but most play in the smaller European leagues or have not secured a regular place at bigger clubs. Raúl Jiménez is an exception and is still playing well at Fulham, but he is now 34 and his influence is waning. Santiago Giménez, for all his promise, has been struggling at Milan and missed much of this season due to an ankle injury. That could go either way. He might come to the World Cup out of match practice and struggle, or might arrive fresh and motivated to prove himself.
Mexico vs. South Africa
Mexico will start against South Africa in what appears to be the easiest of their three games. They will therefore be under immense pressure to take all three points, with a draw being a disappointment, and defeat a disaster. Yet South Africa cannot be written off, for this is a soccer-mad nation of 65 million people where sport offers one of the few paths out of poverty. This South African side will be largely made up of home-based players, and that might be a problem for them. Only Mamelodi Sundowns, champions for the last eight seasons, offer their players world-class facilities and coaching. The traditional giant clubs, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, seem to be in constant turmoil, while down at the bottom half of the table, a trip to play Magesi F.C. or Marumo Gallants can feel like entering a soccer wilderness.
The South African Premiership is also noted for arguments and disputes, and this chaos has transferred to the national team. In March 2025, South Africa easily beat Lesotho in a World Cup qualifying game, only to have the three points deducted for fielding an ineligible player. Those lost points saw South Africa go into the final round of games with qualification on a knife-edge, any one of Benin, Nigeria or South Africa still able to secure a ticket to the finals. South Africa won at home against Rwanda, while Benin lost to Nigeria, a combination of results that saw South Africa finish the day at the top of the table. However, the chaos has continued with the team’s journey to Mexico being delayed due to visa issues.
South Africa’s best qualities
One factor that might play to the South Africans’ advantage is that, unusually for the volatile world of African football, the South Africans have stayed with one coach for five years. Hugo Broos is now 74 and enjoyed a long career as a player in his native Belgium, including representing his country in the 1986 World Cup here in Mexico. By the 1990s, he was the up-and-coming manager in Belgian soccer, having taken Club Brugge to two championships. The national team position at the time was securely in the hands of the legendary Paul van Himst, so Hugo took his trade overseas, spending much of the last 10 years in Africa. After he led South Africa to a third-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, several African nations had their eye on him, but South Africa retained his services to see them through to this year’s World Cup.
The best-known South African player is captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Hayden Williams. An international since March 2014, he has won numerous Best Goalkeeper Awards in African tournaments. The team will have several young players, such as home-based striker Relebohile Mofokeng and 22-year-old defender Samukele Kabini, who plays in Norway. Much will depend on whether the World Cup has come a little early for this next generation of stars.
Mexico vs. South Korea in Guadalajara
For their second game, Mexico will relocate to Guadalajara, where they face South Korea. In contrast to the South Africans, who have not played in the finals for 16 years, the Koreans will be competing in their 11th consecutive tournament. This gives them a World Cup culture to build upon, and the coach in Mexico will be Hong Myung-bo, a veteran of the Korean team that reached the semifinals in 2002. The Koreans looked very good in a long-drawn-out qualifying tournament, going undefeated over 16 games, scoring 40 goals while conceding just eight.
The Korean league is of a high standard, and they have a core of players who will bring experience from the world’s top competitions. Lee Kang-in, an attacking midfielder or winger, is on the books of Paris Saint-Germain, and Kim Minjae plays centerback for Bayern Munich. The key player is captain Son Heung-min. A Premier League legend after ten seasons and 127 goals with Tottenham, he now plays in the U.S. with Los Angeles FC. Son is a fit and dedicated young man, but a player who depends so much on speed might struggle at 33 years of age. We wait and see. If Son Heung-min can still produce his magic, then Korea could go a long way in this tournament.
Mexico vs. the Czech Republic
Mexico’s third game will be on June 25 against the last of the European qualifiers, the Czech Republic. They come from a long football legacy, and as Czechoslovakia reached the World Cup final way back in 1962. The country peacefully split in 1992, leaving the Czech Republic with two-thirds of the population and most of the big Prague-based soccer clubs.
Their qualification for Mexico was hardly impressive, but it lacked nothing in excitement. The presence of Croatia in Group L was always going to be a worry, but the way the Czechs were outclassed by Croatia in a 1-5 defeat in June 2025 still came as a shock. This was followed by the ultimate embarrassment when the Czech Republic travelled to the Faroe Islands. This tiny group of windswept islands, with a population of 56,000 and only 20 football pitches, put out a team of semi-professional players who beat their visitors 2-1.
The Czech Republic’s experienced coaching stands out
All was not quite lost because the Czech Republic had taken second place and, with that, had a chance of qualifying through the second round play-offs. A new coach was brought in, and the Football Association showed a touch of genius. Instead of going for a big international name, they turned to a local man, the 74-year-old Miroslav Koubek. His long career, 10 years as a player and 40 as a manager, had been spent inclusively at home, and his forte was to bring the best out of smaller clubs. The qualities he had brought to teams such as Viktoria Plzeň or SK Kladno — simple football and a strong team spirit — were just what his band of disillusioned international players needed.
There was certainly plenty of excitement as the games against the Republic of Ireland and Denmark both went down to the drama of a penalty shoot-out. Despite that horrible night in the Faroe Islands, this is a reasonable Czech team with a good striker in German-based Patrik Schick and a noted midfield warrior in Tomáš Souček. Under Koubek, they might produce a surprise or two, but lack that one truly great player who can push all those around him to new heights.
An unpredictable outlook
Where the Czechs are to be feared is if a game goes to penalty kicks. Their victories over Ireland and Denmark were not luck, but the result of Koubek’s discipline and planning. The Czech players took nine kicks in the two shootouts and converted seven of them. In doing so, they followed one golden rule: get the ball on target. No blasting over the bar or wide of the post. Get every kick on target, and if the keeper saves one or two, then the odds are still in your favor. This discipline might well help the Czechs spring a surprise or two if they reach the knockout stages.
With the four teams so closely matched, the only thing that seems certain is that Group A of the 2026 FIFA World Cup is going to be unpredictable!
Bob Pateman lived in Mexico for six years. He is a librarian and teacher with a Master’s Degree in History.
