South Africa play Czechia, seek World Cup win after Mexico defeat

Published 17 June 2026 · sports

After losing their opening group matches, both teams need a victory to keep knockout hopes alive. The 2026 World Cup will have 13 kickoff times

After losing their opening group matches, both teams need a victory to keep knockout hopes alive. The 2026 World Cup will have 13 kickoff times. You can use the Al Jazeera Sport widget to find out exactly when your team is playing in your local time. Who: Czechia vs South Africa What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match Where: Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, United States When: Thursday, noon (16:00 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 12:30 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream. The second round of the group matches at the 2026 World Cup begins on Thursday as Czechia face South Africa in Group A in Atlanta. Despite scoring first in their tournament opener, the Czechs suffered a 2-1 defeat to South Korea in Guadalajara, Mexico, while South Africa faced a similar fate. Their nine-man side fell 2-0 to cohosts Mexico in a chaotic contest in Mexico City. As they fly to the United States, both bruised teams will hope to bounce back and stay in the hunt for the knockout stages at the 48-team tournament. Here is all to know about the Czechia vs South Africa matchup Under-pressure Czechs can’t afford a loss against South Africans Czechia’s rugged, set piece-reliant game failed against South Korea’s fluid, possession-based football despite captain Ladislav Krejci scoring the opening goal. With Group A table toppers Mexico posing a more complex challenge in their final group fixture, the Czechs know their best chance of securing three points will be against Bafana Bafana on Thursday.

“Against South Africa, we have to get it right,” defender Jaroslav Zeleny said. “Mexico will probably be a tougher challenge afterwards, so we have to give everything in the match against South Africa and absolutely make sure we win it.” Before the Czech Republic and Slovakia became separate countries, confederated Czechoslovakia was for many years one of the best teams in Europe and finished World Cup runners-up in 1934 and 1962. Since then, the Czechia’s record has been poor with only four tournament appearances and progression to the knockout stages only once – a quarterfinal run in 1990. The Czechs, back at the tournament after 20 long years, need a much-improved performance to keep their World Cup dreams alive in North America. South Africa out to silence critics after Mexico disappointment With millions of fans watching from across the world, South Africa played Mexico in the tournament opener, bringing back memories of the 2010 edition’s opening game. But unlike the result in their home World Cup opener 16 years ago, South Africa suffered a crushing defeat this time. And while that was not unexpected against a solid Mexican side playing in front of a partisan home crowd, what disappointed fans back home was the poor display by the South African team. Two red cards, two goals conceded and a below-par fight drew widespread criticism in South Africa with everything from the individual displays to the tactics of their coach, Hugo Broos, under the spotlight. “Something that I’ve picked up is that South Africans are happy when you win, but when you lose, you are the worst.