FIFA World Cup Group A: A study in contrasts

MEXICOI RANK: 15 BEST FINISH: QF (1970, 1986) Hosting the World Cup for the first time in 40 years, Mexico will hope to rebound from a group-stage elimination four years ago in Qatar. Before that, they were eliminated in the round of 16 seven consecutive times between 1994 and 2018. The only times Mexico made it to the last eight was when they hosted the tournament, in 1970 and 1986. Much of the team’s hopes will rest on 17-year-old Gilberto Mora, who last year became the youngest ever to play for Mexico’s senior squad at 16.

SOUTH AFRICA I RANK: 60 BEST FINISH: GROUP STAGE (1998, 2002, 2010) South Africa are back in the World Cup for the first time since hosting the tournament in 2010. Despite an upset 2-1 win against France, they became the first host nation to be eliminated in the group stage. The South Africans made it to the World Cup this year by edging African powerhouse Nigeria in their qualifying group. The squad is mostly made up of players from local clubs.

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CZECHIA I RANK: 41 BEST FINISH: RUNNERS-UP (1934, 1962) They needed a penalty shootout win over Denmark in the European playoffs to make it to their first World Cup since 2006. Czechia arrived at the 2006 tournament as one of the highestranked teams but weren’t able to get past a group stage that included Italy, Ghana and the US. Former captain Vladimír Darida, 35, agreed to come out of international retirement to help the team qualify for the World Cup

SOUTH KOREA I RANK: 25 BEST FINISH: FOURTH PLACE (2002) South Korea will make their 12th World Cup appearance — the most of any Asian country. Their best result was a fourth-place finish at the tournament they co-hosted with Japan in 2002. Since then, the South Koreans have never gone beyond the round of 16. Four years ago in Qatar, they finished second to Portugal in a group that also included Uruguay and Ghana. They were eliminated by Brazil 4-1 in the last 16. The team’s biggest star and captain is former Tottenham attacker Son Heung-min, who now plays for Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer. Other players to watch include Paris SaintGermain midfielder Lee Kang-in and Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae.