TEAM GUIDES — GROUP A: Bafana Bafana face uphill battle in tough group at 2026 Fifa World Cup

Group A of the 2026 Fifa World Cup contains co-hosts Mexico, Asian high-rollers South Korea, European dark horses Czechia and a rejuvenated South Africa.

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CzechiaThe planThe role of the underdog has historically suited Czechia, and perhaps they can surprise people again — but they do not have many tools to do so. For a long time, the team has lacked technical players and rely too heavily on physicality, work rate, aggression and set-pieces. That was evident in the World Cup play-offs against Republic of Ireland and Denmark, winning both ties on penalties after two battling performances.

At the World Cup, long-distance travel, time-zone changes and altitude will play a major role, and there are question marks over how the team will cope with playing two matches in Mexico at around 2,000m above sea level — especially as the team base is in Dallas.

The spine of the team is experienced. Tomas Soucek remains the leader in midfield despite being stripped of the captaincy after the players failed to thank the fans after a 6-0 win against Gibraltar. “The fans have a full right to express their disagreement with the unsatisfactory performances in the recent games,” the FA said. “The reaction of the players should have been quite the contrary. They should have thanked the active fans.”

Ladislav Krejčí, the hard-tackling Wolverhampton centre-back, stepped in as captain and scored in both playoff matches and drove the team forward. In attack, Patrik Schick is expected to be the main offensive weapon, and his fitness improved towards the 2025-26 season.

There was embarrassment – a historic defeat to the Faroe Islands – during qualification, which led to the coach, Ivan Hašek, being sacked. Thankfully, many things improved after Miroslav Koubek took over.

The starting XI is likely to be a combination of players from the Premier League and other top European leagues, as well as those making a name for themselves in the Czech league. There is strong competition for the goalkeeping position with Matej Kovar helping PSV Eindhoven win the Dutch league and saving two penalties in the playoffs, but Braga’s Lukas Hornicek is pushing hard for his place. Lukas Provod and Pavel Sulc are among the players who should make things happen creativity-wise. The aim will be to get out of the group.

Miroslav Koubek was set to become the oldest coach at a World Cup at 74, but Dick Advocaat, four years his senior, was reappointed to lead Curaçau at the tournament. Even so, Koubek is at the peak of his powers. It too