Despite taking the lead against South Korea through Ladislav Krejcí, Czechia succumbed to a 2-1 loss following goals from Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu. The tournament may feel like it has only just begun, but Czechia already know that a defeat to South Africa alongside Mexico avoiding defeat against South Korea would bring an early end to their World Cup run. They need a result in Atlanta.
Czechia's Path Forward
Striker Tomás Chory outlined how his side plans to approach a different opponent than the one they faced in their opener.
We're facing something completely different to [when facing] Korea. We definitely want to keep the ball more and be more confident,
Chory added that Czechia have shown the required quality in training and now need to carry it onto the pitch.
I think we have what it takes to get into good positions. We can see in training that we're good at it, we just need to transfer that to the match.
Czechia will hope for an increased share of possession after South Korea controlled the ball in their previous outing, limiting Czechia to just seven shots with a cumulative expected goals value of 0.83. Although they are yet to secure a point, the Opta supercomputer still gives them a 49.8% chance of reaching the last 32, suggesting they have the quality to get a result here.
Czechia have only lost their opening two games at a World Cup twice before, and those instances were all the way back in 1954 and 1970. Should Krejcí find the back of the net again versus South Africa, he will join a short list of Czechia players to score in the first two games of a World Cup:
- Oldrich Nejedly (1934, 1938)
- Ladislav Petras (1970)
- Michal Bílek (1990)
South Africa's Suspensions and Mexico Hangover
Czechia's chances are boosted by South Africa being without Yaya Sithole and Themba Zwane, who were both shown red cards as Bafana Bafana lost 2-0 to co-hosts Mexico in the opening game of the tournament.
In that match against Mexico, South Africa posted their lowest totals for shots (3), expected goals (0.07), passes into the opposition box (12), and successful final-third passes (25) in a World Cup match. Their two touches in the opposition's box were their joint fewest ever. Bafana Bafana were caught short by Mexico's high press for both goals, leading to criticism of coach Hugo Broos and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
Fellow keeper Ricardo Goss leapt to the defence of Broos, who he has no doubt can help the team avoid losing back-to-back World Cup matches for the first time in their history.
It's just unfortunate that we aren't realistic enough as South Africa. I'm not saying we shouldn't go try and win games but I think it's unfair on the coach … We still love him and we're going to play for him,
South Africa also know their future in the competition is on the line, as a loss to Czechia and South Korea avoiding defeat against Mexico would be enough to dump them out. Broos could look to Relebohile Mofokeng as a replacement for the suspended Zwane, while Thalante Mbatha is likely to be called upon in the absence of Sithole.
South Africa only have a 24.9% chance of making it through to the knockout rounds, according to the Opta supercomputer, and a positive result against Czechia will be key to keeping that possibility alive.
Head-to-Head and World Cup History
Czechia and South Africa have only met once before, and that came at the Confederations Cup in 1997. That game finished 2-2, with Vladimír Smicer scoring a double.
South Africa have gone up against European opposition in the World Cup on six occasions. Their most recent such match was a memorable 2-1 victory over France that dumped Les Bleus out of the 2010 World Cup. Bafana Bafana have lost just one of their last four World Cup matches against European opposition, a 3-2 defeat to Spain in 2002.
