Pre-match information
In the first match of Group A, host Mexico defeated South Africa with a score of 2-0, in a match with up to 3 red cards. This result helps Mexico temporarily lead the group. They have many advantages to be able to win a ticket to the next round.
The result of the opening match is of great significance for the chances of teams winning tickets to the next round. For the South Korean team, they have not been able to win in the opening match in the last three World Cups. At the 2014 World Cup, it marked the beginning of their most forgettable campaign since 1998, when South Korea was at the bottom of the group with only one point.
4 years later in Russia, consecutive defeats against Sweden and Mexico made the impressive 2-0 victory over defending champion Germany in the final match still not enough to help them advance.
At the 2022 World Cup, South Korea still reached the round of 16 even though they only drew and lost in the first two matches. However, that journey also carried many lucky factors when they only won against Portugal thanks to a decisive counter-attack in the 90+1 minute.
The match against the Czech Republic at Estadio Guadalajara is considered an ideal opportunity for South Korea to create an early advantage. However, the Asian team currently has the lowest winning rate in World Cup history for teams that have played more than 30 matches, only reaching 18.4%.
However, coach Hong Myung-bo's team has reason to be confident when they won both of their most recent World Cup matches against European opponents, including a 2-0 victory over Germany in 2018 and a 2-1 victory over Portugal in 2022.
On the other side, the Czech Republic also sees this as an opportunity to create an important momentum for its journey in North America.
This is the 10th time they have participated in the World Cup if including the Czechoslovak period before, and also the first time since the 2006 World Cup. In the tournament 20 years ago, the Czech Republic defeated the USA 3-0 in the opening match but was still eliminated from the group stage.
The Central European team has twice won the World Cup runner-up title in 1934 and 1962.
The journey to the 2026 World Cup of the Czech Republic is not easy at all. They have to overcome the play-off round - successively defeating Ireland and Denmark in the penalty shootout, when both matches ended in a 2-2 draw.
One of the most notable strengths of the Czech Republic lies in set pieces. In the European regional qualifiers, they scored 11 out of 22 goals from set pieces, the most in the tournament. Among them, 7 goals originated from corner kicks.
The Czech Republic is also preparing quite actively for the World Cup when they successively defeated Kosovo 2-1 and Guatemala 3-1 in the most recent friendly matches.
