2026 World Cup Group A Guide: Teams, schedule, key player

The finals will begin in Mexico, with the co-hosts kicking off proceedings in Group A and the opening game of the competition when they take on South Africa in Mexico City. 

DAZN News takes a look at Group A, examining the teams, players and big games across the opening stage of World Cup 2026. 

World Cup Group Guides 

• Group A 
• Group B
• Group C
• Group D
• Group E
• Group F
• Group G
• Group H
• Group I
• Group J
• Group K
• Group L 

DAZN

Group A - at a glance 

• Mexico
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Czech Republic 

Fixtures

Predicted qualifiers 

The co-hosts, Mexico, will feel pretty confident about their chances of progressing, but the winner of the UEFA play-off is a possible favourite to top the group. 

The Teams 

Mexico  

World Ranking: 16
Best World Cup: Quarter-finals 1970 and 1986

Football's biggest stage returns to Mexico for the first time in 40 years, and as usual, the host nation will be taking part in the fun, kicking off the tournament with its clash with South Africa. 

The 2026 side is in good shape, having won the Nations League for the first time in 2025 and the Gold Cup, and is currently ranked just outside the top 15 in the world. 

The squad possesses a core group of talent from the domestic league, but also boasts the talents of Fulham's Raul Jimenez and former West Ham midfielder Edson Alvarez.

With a group they'd be pretty confident of progressing in and a tournament on home soil, the Mexicans could be ones to watch this summer. 

Key man - Santiago Giménez

The Milan man has had a frustrating season with injury in Italy, but is fit for the summer. Now he's made the squad, he'll give Mexico a real cutting edge in attack. 

Manager  -  Javier Aguirre

Now in his third spell as national team boss, Aguirre coached them at both the 2002 and 2010 World Cup finals, each time stumbling at the Round of 16 hurdle. 

South Africa 

World Ranking: 60
Best World Cup: Group Stage (1998, 2002, 2010) 

It's a first World Cup appearance for Bafana Bafana since they hosted the tournament in 2010, and once again they'll be opening proceedings as they play co-hosts Mexico. 

South Africa saw off a talented Nigeria side to top their qualifying group and book their place at the finals, where they'll be targeting a knockout place for the first time in their history. 

It's a squad largely made up of home-based players, but they have a consistent group of names and manager over the last five years, giving the side a settled feel. 

They'll be somewhat the unknowns of this group, and it could play into their hands in this expanded World Cup format. 

Key man - Lyle Foster 

One of the few South Africans who plays their football in one of Europe's elite leagues, Foster has been part of a Burnley side battling relegation in the Premier League, but has ten goals in 24 caps for his country. 

Manager - Hugo Broos 

As a player, he represented Belgium at the World Cup and has since tasted success as a coach, leading Cameroon to AFCON triumph in 2017. He's been the South African boss since 2021.  

Getty

South Korea 

World Ranking: 22
Best World Cup: Fourth place, 2002 

Since first qualifying for the World Cup in 1986, South Korea have appeared at every finals since and now return to where it all began as part of the co-hosts group. 

Four years ago, the Asian side made the Round of 16 after memorably defeating Portugal in the Group Stage, and returned to the global stage with more players plying their trade in Europe's major leagues than ever before. 

Hwang Hee-chan will be familiar to Premier League fans, while Kim Min-jae has become an integral part of Bayern Munich's domination of the Bundesliga this season. Together, they will believe that they can once again progress out of the opening phase and into the knockout rounds. 

Key man - Son Heung-Min 

There is a new generation of South Koreans filtering through the national set-up, but the former Spurs man remains the talisman and captain. Currently enjoying life in the MLS with LA Galaxy, the team's success will centre around Son. 

Manager - Hong Myung-bo

As a player, he led South Korea to their finest-ever moment when they finished fourth at the 2002 World Cup, and now he's looking for success as Head Coach in a second spell as boss. The team were unbeaten in qualifying, but doubts still linger after his winless run as manager in 2014. 

Getty Images

Czech Republic 

World Ranking: 44
Best World Cup: Runners-up, 1934, 1962 

After navigating their way through the play-offs, Czechnia are back on the World Cup stage for the first time since 2006. 

They came from 2-0 down to defeat the Republic of Ireland in the semi-final on penalties and then repeated the spotkicks trick by dumping out the heavily fancied Danes to book their place at the finals - so we already know they are a dan hand from twelve yards. 

Tomas Soucek is the most familiar name in the squad, which also includes Wolves' Ladislav Krejci, who captains the nation.

It's a fairly open group and the Czechs have already shown their battling qualities to get to the States, so a knockout place isn't beyond them. 

Key man - Patrik Schick 

With 25 goals for his country, the big centre-forward is their main goal threat and one of the Bundesliga's most consistent performers. Keep an eye on the Bayer Leverkusen man. 

Manager  - Miroslav Koubek

A vastly experienced coach in his home country, the 74-year-old is a former title winner in the Czech Republic nas been in charge of the national team since December. 

Getty Images

 

Watch World Cup archive, highlights, and documentaries for FREE on DAZN

DAZN is the home of FIFA+, a vast library of football on-demand content including World Cup archive, iconic documentaries, player profiles, live matches, and both full match replays and highlights.

Watch it all for FREE on DAZN on smart TVs, phones, tablets, streaming devices, games consoles, and web browsers.

FIFA+ includes:

• FIFA World Cup archive - full match replays of all matches from Brazil 1970 to Qatar 2022
• World Cup goals - the best goals from each tournament; every goal from every nation from every tournament
• Original documentaries - including Mo: A Global Icon; Golden Boot: The Documentary; After Diego
• Icons of the game - From Pelé to Cristiano Ronaldo
• Behind-the-scenes content
• Live matches from around the world

Getty