There will be 13 kick-off times for the 2026 World Cup. Al Jazeera Sports Widget lets you know exactly when your team will play in local time.
Who: Czech Republic vs South Africa
Content: 2026 FIFA World Cup Group A matches
Location: Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Date and time: Thursday noon (GMT 16:00)
How to follow: All content will be broadcast on Al Jazeera Sports from 12:30 GMT, ahead of a live text commentary stream.
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The second group stage match of the 2026 World Cup begins on Thursday, with the Czech Republic taking on South Africa in Atlanta in Group A.
Despite taking the lead in the opening game of the tournament, the Czech Republic lost 2-1 to South Korea in Guadalajara, Mexico, and South Africa faced a similar fate. The nine-a-side team lost 2-0 to co-hosts Mexico in a closely contested match in Mexico City.
Both injured teams will be hoping to bounce back when they fly to the United States and remain in the mix for a spot in the 48-team tournament.
Here’s what you need to know about the Czech Republic vs. South Africa matchup.
The Czech Republic is under pressure and cannot afford to lose to the South African team.
Despite captain Ladislav Krejci scoring the opening goal, the Czech Republic’s tough game, which relied on set pieces, failed against South Korea’s fluid, possession-based football.
The Czechs know their best chance of securing three points comes against Bafana Bafana on Thursday, with Group A leaders Mexico posing a more complex task in their final group game.
“We have to do things right against South Africa,” defender Jaroslav Zeleny said.
“The next game against Mexico will probably be a tougher one, so we have to give our all and definitely win against South Africa.”
Before the Czech Republic and Slovakia became separate countries, the United Czechoslovakia was one of Europe’s best teams for many years, finishing runners-up at the World Cup in 1934 and 1962. Since then, the Czech Republic’s record has been poor, appearing in only four tournaments and reaching the finals only once, in the quarter-finals in 1990.
Returning to the tournament for the first time in 20 years, the Czech Republic team needs a much-improved performance to keep their World Cup dreams alive in North America.
South Africa aims to silence critics after Mexico disappointment
With millions of fans watching from around the world, South Africa faced Mexico in the opening game of the tournament, bringing back memories of the opening game of the 2010 edition. However, unlike the result of their first home World Cup match 16 years ago, South Africa suffered a crushing defeat this time.
While it was not unexpected that a solid Mexican team would play in front of a partisan home crowd, it was the South African team’s poor performance that disappointed their home fans.
Two red cards, two goals conceded and a subpar display drew widespread criticism within South Africa, with everything from individual play to coach Hugo Bruce’s tactics drawing attention.
“My feeling is that South Africans are happy when they win, but it sucks when they lose. That’s true,” winger Thapelo Maseko said.
“We have big players with heart. If anyone has doubts about this team, they should think again.”
Bafana Bafana are under pressure to catch up after impressive results from their African compatriots Morocco, Cape Verde, Egypt and Ivory Coast.
Czech vs South Africa predictions
The supercomputer from statistics provider Opta gave the Czech Republic a 54.9% chance of winning this match. South Africa’s odds are 21.8 percent and the odds of a draw are 23.3 percent.
Kickoff time and how to watch the game
Czech Republic: CT Sport, CT Sport Plus, Nova Action (6pm BST) South Africa: SuperSport, SportyTV, New World TV (6pm BST) UK: BBC Player, BBC One, ITVX (5pm BST) US: FOX, FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, Peacock (noon EDT)
To see the TV listings for your country, visit the FIFA TV listings schedule here.
How will the World Cup group stage be played?
Group A included the Czech Republic, South Africa, Mexico, and South Korea.
After the first round of the group, Mexico was in first place, and South Korea was in second place. The Czech Republic and South Africa came in third and fourth place, respectively.
The top two teams in each of the 12 groups and the top eight teams in third place advance to the next stage, the Round of 32, which was first introduced at the World Cup.
Form guide:
(Last 5 games, latest game)
Czech Republic: LWWWW
South Africa: LDDLD
Although both teams lost their first World Cup matches, the Czech Republic has an overall far better record than South Africa in their last five matches.
The Czech Republic defeated Kosovo and Guatemala in pre-World Cup friendlies before losing to South Korea in the tournament opener. In March, they defeated Denmark and Ireland on penalties in the UEFA qualifying play-offs, and in November they also defeated Gibraltar.
South Africa, on the other hand, are without a win in their last five matches. In addition to losing to Mexico in the opening game of the tournament, they were also dissatisfied with their performance leading up to the World Cup, drawing with Nicaragua and Jamaica, and losing to Panama.
direct confrontation
Thursday’s game will be the second meeting between the two teams.
Almost 30 years ago, in December 1997, the Czech Republic and South Africa met in the group stage of the FIFA Confederations Cup, ending in a 2-2 draw in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
team news
While the Czechs have no injury concerns, South Africa will be without midfielders Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane after receiving red cards in their opening game against Mexico.
Czech national team’s predicted eleven
(3-4-2-1): Kovar (goalkeeper). Chaloupek, Hranac, Kreij. Coufar, Soucek, Soika, Zelenyi. Provod, Suruk. chic
South Africa’s predicted eleven
(5-3-2): Williams (goalie). Mudau, Sibisi, Okon, Mbokazi, Modiba. Mokoena, Mbatha, Adams. foster rayners
