Draft teams, stars, fixtures and all the details on Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and the Czech Republic

Mexico: “El Tri” is condemned to shine at home!

Mexico wants to overcome itself on home soil after the frustrations of the last participations, at the WC 2022 in Qatar being eliminated from the group stage, something that had not happened since 1978.

“El Tri” has 17 finals appearances and has only finished in the top eight twice, always as hosts, in 1970 and 1986. It has now officially qualified as the host nation.

I remain with the uncertainty of the opponent in the dam. We don't know what can happen. For now, I'll put my analysts to work to study the opponents and look for similar teams to set up some friendlies
– Javier Aguirrethe Mexico coach

With few foreign players and no top scorerthe star is goalkeeper Ronwen Williams. The Mexicans rely on a batch in which the solidity of César Montes and the geometry provided by captain Edson Alvarez stand out in the middle.

He is completed by Marcel Ruiz and Gilberto Mora, with the fresh air given to the band that hopes to win the challenge of a new historic opportunity.

STANDARD TEAM (4-1-4-1)
Rangel – Jorge Sanchez, Montes, Johan Vasquez, Gallardo – Lira – Alvarado, Fidalgo, Brian Gutierrez, Edson Alvarez – R. Jimenez
COACH: JAVIER AGUIRRE (67 years old, selector from July 2024)

THE STAR – JIMENEZ RIVER
Date of birth: May 5, 1991
Place of birth: Tepeji del Rio de Ocampo
Height: 1.87 m
Club: Fulham
Field position: ATTACKING
National trophies: Gold Cup (2)

South Africa: The unknown “Bafana Bafana” and the exclusion of Ngezana

The 2026 edition will be the fourth participation in the World Cup for the “Bafana Bafana” national team. South Africa finished the qualifiers top of the group and condemned Nigeria to the play-offs, also ahead of Benin, Lesotho, Rwana and Zimbabwe.

Burnley's Lyle Foster is looking to make up for the lack of a reliable No.9 scorer. Without the benefit of a goalscorer, the star of the team is goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.

The imbalance in the game of the band of Hugo Broos will be created by the extremes Percy Tau and especially Oswin Appollis. And the Belgian coach will also be able to count on Mokoena's ability to score from distance.

The Superliga missed the chance to have a starter from FCSB at the WC, Ngezana being used by Hugo Broos in the starting lineup at the last edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.

STANDARD TEAM (4-2-3-1)
R. Williams – Mudau, Okon, Mbokazi, Modiba – Mokoena, Adams – Mofokeng, Zwane, Appollis – L. Foster
COACH: HUGO BROOS (73 years old, selector since May 2021)

Goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams has 60 caps in the South African national team / Photo: Imago

STAR – RONWEN WILLIAMS
Date of birth: January 21, 1992
place of birth: Port Elizabeth
Height: 1.84m
Club: Mamelodi Sundowns
Field position: GOALKEEPER
National trophies: –

South Korea: Son Heung-min and the great American dream

South Korea has been living with “Te-An-Mingo” nostalgia for exactly two decades now, when they were propelled to a historic semi-final. Qualification in the Americas came after winning their group, where they faced Jordan, Iraq, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait

But the new generation, led by Kang-in Lee, opts for a change. South Korea have a team that, once again, stands out for its tenacity, discipline and pushing the game beyond the limits.

The star is Son Heung-min. Despite leaving Tottenham and choosing MLS, the forward, who will turn 34 this summer, threatens Cha Bum-kun's (58) all-time record of 54 goals.

Drăgușin's former colleague will do the heavy lifting alongside Kim Min-jae, now a reserve at Bayern. Kang-in Lee, European champion with PSG, is ready to take over the baton.

STANDARD TEAM (4-2-3-1)
Kim Seung-gyu – Seol Young-woo, Kim Min-jae, Cho Yu-min, Castrop – Hwang In-beom, Park Jin-seob – Hwang Hee-chan, Son Heung-min – Oh Hyeon-gyu
COACH: HONG MYUNG-BO (57 years old, coach from July 2024)

Son Heung-min has 141 caps and 54 goals for the South Korean national team / Photo: Imago

THE STAR – SON HEUNG-MIN
Date of birth: July 8, 1992
Place of birth: Chuncheon
Height: 1.84m
Club: Los Angeles FC
Field position: extreme left
National trophies: Asian Games (1)

Czech Republic: Lucky in the lottery of penalties in two pools!

The Czech Republic defied the predictions of the experts and went through the caudal forks of the play-off, eliminating Ireland and then Denmark. Both qualifiers were dramatic, won on home soil and decided on penalties.

The first hop, against Ireland, had an incredible scenario. The Czechs were leading 0-2 after half time, with a penalty and an own goal!

But they came back amazingly, and the scenario was repeated in the tie from 11 meters. The first to miss were the Czechs, but the visitors immediately wasted two executions and said goodbye to America!

And with Denmark, in the final, it ended in a draw in 120 minutes and the same (2-2). And in the shootout, only Krejci did not score, while the Scandinavians made mistakes no less than three times, including through Rasmus Hojlund. So that tickets for the World Championship remained in Prague.

The dashing Patrik Schick provided the image of the day at EURO 2020. Photo source: Imago Images

The Czechs return after two decades and four consecutive missed campaigns. Their only participation after the split from Slovakia in 2006 ended in fiasco, being eliminated in the group stage (only the points of the victory against the USA, 3-0, signed by Koller and Rosicky).

They will be led to the final tournament by Miroslav Koubek, a technician brought in from Viktoria Plzen to replace Ivan Hasek last October, after the shipwreck in the Faroe Islands (1-2). The new coach has straightened out the situation and is trying to get out of the group that doesn't look out of place except for the tough one, the Czech Republic being the only European national team in the first series.

STANDARD TEAM (3-4-2-1)
Kovar – Holes, Hranac, Krejci – Coufal, Soucek, Darida, Zeleny – Provod, Sulc – Schick.
COACH: MIROSLAV KOUBEK (74 years old, selector from December 2025)

THE STAR – PATRICK SCHICK
Date of birth: January 24, 1996
Place of birth: Prague
Height: 1.91m
Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Field position: striker
National trophies: –

Schedule Group A, Romanian time

• June 11, 22:00 » Mexico – South Africa

• June 12, 05:00 » South Korea – Czech Republic

• June 18, 19:00 » Czech Republic – South Africa

• June 19, 04:00 » Mexico – South Korea

• June 25, 04:00 » Czech Republic – Mexico

• June 24, 04:00 » South Africa – South Korea

The composition of the groups of the World Championship 2026

Photo: Instagram @fifaworldcup