World Cup 2026 Group A Profile: Who Will Progress?

Group A of the 2026 World Cup certainly has plenty to offer: hosts Mexico are clear favourites, but behind them everything remains wide open. South Korea, Asia’s most consistent World Cup nation, have the quality needed to challenge Mexico. The Czech Republic battled their way into the tournament after a nerve-racking playoff thriller and are eager to make their mark on the big stage once again. And South Africa? Bafana Bafana know they are underdogs, but groups like this often produce surprises.

Mexico head into the group as clear favourites to win it: home advantage, a high-quality squad featuring players such as Santiago Giménez and Hirving Lozano, as well as the tremendous backing of their own fans, all speak strongly in favour of the Mexicans. Behind them, South Korea and the Czech Republic are likely to battle it out neck and neck for second place. For South Africa, meanwhile, even three points would already count as a huge success.

Mexico

“El Tri” were eliminated in the Round of 16 seven tournaments in a row (from 1994 to 2018). The notorious “Quinto Partido” trauma still haunts the Mexican footballing soul. Having already hosted the tournament in 1970 and 1986, the third World Cup on home soil is finally supposed to bring a place in the quarter-finals. Anything less would be a major disappointment for this football-mad nation. However, ahead of the tournament, tensions have arisen due to a dispute between the FMF federation and several clubs over player releases.

Czech Republic

For the first time since 2006, the Czech Republic will once again take part in a World Cup, and securing qualification was anything but straightforward. In the playoff final against Denmark, it took 120 minutes and a penalty shoot-out before Michael Sadílek scored the decisive goal for a 3–1 victory, sending his country back onto football’s biggest stage. As an independent nation, the Czech Republic have only previously appeared at the 2006 World Cup, where their journey ended in the group stage. The objective for 2026 is therefore clear: reach the knockout stage.

South Africa

After 16 years away, South Africa are back at a World Cup. It will only be the country’s fourth World Cup appearance overall, following tournaments in 1998, 2002 and the home edition in 2010, where they were also eliminated in the group stage. The odds paint a clear picture, but South Africa will not give up without a fight. In the new 48-team World Cup format, even third-placed teams in the groups have realistic chances of progressing.

South Korea

No other Asian nation has been represented at World Cups as consistently as South Korea: the Koreans have qualified for every tournament since 1986 without interruption. Their greatest achievement came as co-hosts in 2002, when they sensationally finished fourth. In Asian qualifying, they topped their group unbeaten with five wins from six matches. Recently, however, results in friendly matches have been less convincing. Just how competitive South Korea really are heading into the group therefore remains to be seen.