A very entertaining first matchday of the World Cup is wrapping up as the final teams from Groups K and L play today. Now we start again with Group A. The first matchup of the second week of action sees two teams that are in desperate need of a result. South Africa and Czechia face each other in what could be each country’s best chance to give themselves a chance at making it to the knockouts.
Match Details
Who: South Africa vs. Czechia
What: World Cup Group A
Where: Atlanta Stadium (Mercedes-Benz Stadium), Atlanta, Georgia
When: Thursday June 18, 12:00 PM ET / 9:00 AM PT
Watch: FOX, Telemundo, Peacock ES, Fubo Sports
South Africa In Need of Better Performance
In 2010, South Africa hosted the World Cup. The opening game of the tournament was between them and Mexico. They shocked the world with an inspired performance, scoring a now iconic goal and earning a draw. This year, Mexico are co-hosting the World Cup. The opening game of the tournament was the exact same as 2010. This time around, South Africa were played off the pitch and comfortably lost 2-0.
There aren’t many positives for South Africa. The unfortunately named Yaya Sithole, a starting midfielder, just dropped one of the worst individual displays in World Cup history. He was directly at fault for Mexico’s early goal then got a straight red card just four minutes into the second half. Striker Lyle Foster, who played in the Premier League this season, did absolutely nothing and got hooked in the 56th minute. With his country down 2-0, veteran midfielder Themba Zwane punched Mexico winger Roberto Alvarado in the face and also received a straight red card. Bafana Bafana ended the match with just 0.07 xG generated and down two midfielders to red card suspension.
Manager Hugo Broos has been dealt a tough hand. This is South Africa’s best chance of getting points yet they’re going into the match shorthanded and in disarray. Any hope they have of escaping with a result will have to come through the hands of goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
The Mamelodi Sundowns shot stopper was the hero as South Africa made the 2023 AFCON semifinals, even getting nominated for the Yashin Trophy for the world’s best goalkeeper. He made two good saves against Mexico but could’ve done better on the first goal. It’s hard to see where the goals are going to come from, as they were also shut out by Nicaragua in a friendly before the tournament.
Must-Win Match For Czechia
Czechia came into this group with very similar odds to South Korea. It was likely that those two would be fighting for second and third behind Mexico. Now that Czechia have already lost to South Korea, they are in dire need of a win in this game. Getting a result against Mexico is not impossible, but Czechia have a great opportunity as they face the worst team in the group at the perfect time.
The gameplan from manager Miroslav Koubek against South Korea was pretty clear. Let the opponent control the ball and take chances through counterattacks and set pieces. Despite the loss, it worked pretty well. Czechia’s goal came via a set piece as VladimÃr Coufal’s long throw-in was headed home by captain Ladislav KrejcÃ. The Czechs then scored again from another set piece but it was disallowed for offside. They paid the price moments later, as South Korea took the lead and held on for the 2-1 win.
Koubek will have to make some adjustments for this match. Czechia will likely have more of the ball as South Africa’s main threat comes from their pace in transition. The challenge will be providing service to the main man Patrik Schick up top, who was extremely quiet against South Korea. The Leverkusen striker only completed three passes in the loss. Mexico found success through Raúl Jiménez’s hold-up play against South Africa. Jiménez and Schick have similar profiles and builds, so look for Czechia to get their talisman more involved.
Match Prediction
Both teams will know that this is their weakest opponent and therefore best chance at getting a result in the group stage. South Africa’s midfield is depleted after the red cards and they didn’t show much attacking quality against Mexico. Czechia have a clear strength with their set pieces and their height should cause Bafana Bafana some major problems. I back the Czechs to take all three points and set themselves up to qualify as one of the top third place finishers.
Prediction: South Africa 1-2 Czechia
