Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czechia

World Rankings (May 2026): 

• Mexico 15th 

• South Africa 60th

• South Korea 25th

• Czechia 41st

GROUP STRENGTH

• Group A is ranked 8th of the 12 groups for strength based on average rankings

• But the spread of rankings combined with mixed play styles leads to a potentially very open group

We love a good open group here at The Tournament Scout. This one promises to be an interesting one to watch. Perhaps not the most technically brilliant, but one that offers extremely competitive, combative football, and an intriguing blend of play styles. We're making a confident prediction that this one will be a dark horse in the entertainment stakes.

Mexico

There are a few things certain in this life. Death, taxes and Memo Ochoa having a stormer of a tournament. Rumoured to be in for a call up to his sixth tournament (watch this space for confirmation), the iconic stopper could be on for more heroics in 2026. 

But a team is bigger than one man, or indeed one man’s hair, and Mexico present themselves as a pretty rounded outfit in 2026, coming off the back of a 2nd consecutive Gold Cup win in 2025. 

But the picture over their recent friendlies in 2025 and 2026 is maybe a little more mixed. Wins over Panama, Bolivia and Iceland barely paper over the cracks of losses to Colombia and Paraguay, and then draws against global opposition - Japan, South Korea, Ecuador, Uruguay, Portugal and Belgium. 

But momentum in 2026 specifically seems a little better, perhaps. Three wins and two draws, including a 4-0 win over Iceland, suggests there may be more to Mexico than the co-host tags this time around.

Play style:

Defensive focus, tactical flexibility, quick transitions. High intensity and making the most of set pieces.

Expected formation: 

4-3-3 / 3-5-2. Most likely the 4-3-3 that guided them to Gold Cup glory.

Chances: 

Group favourites. You wouldn’t bet against home momentum carrying them late into the competition.

***

South Africa

We’ve been here before, haven’t we? Group A, South Africa playing Mexico. I can still see Siphiwe Tshabalala smashing home a goal before Rafael Márquez pinned back the hosts in the 79th minute. 84,000 vuvuzelas silenced in a heartbeat. 

But while the South Africa of 2010 qualified as hosts, this time around the story is reversed and they are the ones qualifying on merit. Perhaps expected to fall behind to Nigeria in their qualifying group, South Africa subverted the narrative to top the lot. 

It wasn’t easy, though. After fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho (how does that even happen?), a 3-0 forfeit left them waiting on a combination of their game against Rwanda and results elsewhere. 

Bonus marks to South Africa for having a manager whose name sounds like a knock-off perfume from the local market. Here’s to you, Hugo Broos!

Play style: 

Possession-hungry, positive, reliant on heavy use of full back width, midfield creativity and forward movement. Potentially exposable against stronger opposition.

Expected formation:

4-3-2-1 switching to something like a 2-6-2 in attack.

Chances:

Expect entertaining football and a few goals along the way. Probably won’t win the group, but certainly have a shot of qualifying for the round of 32  if they can unsettle the opposition with their energy.

***

South Korea

The 2002 tournament co-hosts had no trouble getting out of a qualifying group featuring China, Thailand and Singapore, albeit with a surprise home draw against Thailand leaving a tiny blemish to deny South Korea a 100% record.

In round three, they topped the group again, unbeaten against Jordan and Iraq. But once more, they picked up a few draws along the way against the likes of Palestine, Oman and Jordan.

A 2-0 win against 10-man Iraq in Basra sealed the deal for their 2026 qualification, wrapping up a professional campaign, albeit one that perhaps remains a little shy of battle-hardening against top teams.

One thing’s for sure - with the talismanic Son Heung-Min leading the line, you wouldn’t bet against a few moments of magic from the former Spurs man.

Hopefully it won’t be a case of “cheers, Son’s crying” this time around. 

Play style: 

High-energy pressing, solid defence, quick transitions to enable individual quality. 

Expected formation:

3-4-3 / 3-4-2-1

Chances:

In with a shout of making it out of what is a tough group on paper. In world rankings terms, you would expect them to make it out of the group, but the unknown quantity of South Africa and the gritty solidity of Czechia may throw a spanner in the works. 

***

Czechia

When I was a teenager, Czechia were in their pomp. Buoyed by a talismanic Pavel Nedved driving forwards and smashing the crossbar from 50 yards, they were probably one of the most entertaining sides in Europe.

But this is a side that has had to reshape itself. No longer a given for tournament qualification, there’s maybe an air of modern pragmatism around this squad. But while they may not be blessed with the generational grace of Nedved, in this qualification campaign they demonstrated grit and guile in beating the Republic of Ireland and Denmark (no strangers to tournaments themselves) in the Path D playoffs to rightfully earn their place at the 2026 World Cup. 

That game against the Republic of Ireland had it all. They survived an early crashing shot against their crossbar in the 6th minute, conceded an early penalty and found themselves two down by the 22nd minute through Troy Parrott. But a tugged shirt later, Czechia were back in it through Patric Schick in the 27th minute and a header from Krejčí in the 86th took it to penalties where they buried 4 of their 5.  

Penalties also decided their next game against Denmark, which had also ended 2-2 after extra time. One thing’s for sure, if their games go the mile, Czechia have shown they have the spirit to grind out a result.

Play style: 

Resilient. Defensive, physically imposing, solid and organised.

Expected formation:

3-4-2-1 / 4-2-3-1 depending on strength of opposition. Expect more of the 3-4-2-1 in this tough group, but we may see other expressive formations leading to an entertaining game vs South Africa. 

Chances:

Their chances will rely entirely on their resilience. Grind out results against South Korea and Mexico and anything can happen. Challenging for third for sure.

***

The Tournament Scout’s Prediction 

Mexico to top the group

South Korea second but in with a chance of being pulled into a dogfight

Czechia and South Africa not dead and buried - with two very different styles of play, one of the two could better South Korea if things go their way