Matchday 1
A Group A preview
Group A
Mexico (#14)
Czechia (#41)
South Africa (#60)
South Korea (#25)
Matchday 1 gives us the first of three opening ceremonies and the first look at the co-hosts Mexico who will have the fanatical support, as well as the weight of expectation from the home fans. Czechia, South Africa and South Korea all come into this WC without great expectation but with a lot of hope that they could get out of the group stage, especially with the chance that 3 points and a positive goal difference could get you through to the extended knock out stages.
Mexico vs South Africa - The Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico
There’s huge expectations on the Mexicans at this tournament. They’re hosting this tournament for the third time (it’s also their coach Javier Aguirre third time in charge of this team), as they did in 1970 and again in 1986 after Colombia pulled out. On both those occasions they reached the quarter finals and anything but doing that here will be seen as a failure of sorts. They’re not a side filled with stars, in fact a lot of the squad comes from the Mexican league, including the 17 year old prodigy Gilberto Mora. Although, with the sum of their parts, playing at altitude - the Azteca is at 2,200m above sea level - and the home crowd advantage, they could very well be at the quarter finals again, albeit playing across the border to the north.
South Africa on first glance is the team you would expect to finish bottom of this group. Though by no way are they in the worst batch of teams at this WC. They topped their group in AFCON qualifying, edging out perennial African powerhouse Nigeria, for the automatic qualifying place. Like the Mexican team, a lot of their players come from the domestic league. Saying that, that domestic league provided the African Champions League winners, the Sundowners which feature national team players and influence the tactical style of play we’ll see from South Africa. It’s a hard-pressing approach which worked during qualifying but it will be a step up at the WC and it will be interesting to see if they bring it here.
This matchup is actually a replay of what we saw in the opening game of South Africa’s home WC in 2010 where it ended in a 1-1 draw. South Africa wouldn’t have been too disappointed with that result, but if Mexico were to repeat that, they’ll be feeling much more disappointed.
South Korea vs Czechia - Guadalajara Stadium, Zapopan, Mexico
South Korea topped their group in qualifying, grabbing an automatic qualification spot alongside Australia in second. They come into this tournament hopeful of getting through the group and from there gritting their teeth and trying to eke out results like they did in 2002 when they reached the semis on home soil. The 33 year old Song Hueng-Min is still the talisman and face of this team in what is likely his last WC.
It’s the first time as fans we’ll be seeing this team under the name of Czechia, but don’t mistake them as newcomers, they have a long history in this tournament as the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia. The latter were quarterfinalists in 1990 and runners up in 1962 and the first edition in 1930 when they were one of the few European teams to get on the boat over there. Their last appearance was in 2006 when they were led by the brilliant Pavel Nedved. This time around they did it the hard way through two penalty shoot-outs in the qualifying knockout stage after being second in their group to Croatia. There’s no household names in this team but a splattering of players across teams such as Lyon, Bayer Leverkusen, West Ham and Wolverhampton.
This match-up could be a cagey affair with both teams desperate not to lose. Taking a half chance could be what decides this if it’s not to be a draw. I don’t know if I’m expecting scintillating football but I’ll be watching this one for how important it’s going to be for both teams. A win for either side puts them in a good spot for qualification given there’s no heavyweight in this group that could really damage your goal difference.