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

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:

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.