Back Czechia to avoid defeat in their Group A opener against South Korea on Friday.

Miroslav Koubek replaced Ivan Hasek in the Czechia hot seat following a shock 2-1 defeat away to the Faroe Islands during qualifying, and the response has been impressive. The Czechs have since gone six matches unbeaten, winning play-off ties against the Republic of Ireland and Denmark to book their place at this summer’s World Cup.

There have been stronger South Korea sides in years gone by, despite them enjoying a relatively straightforward route to qualification. While the Taegeuk Warriors warmed up with wins over Trinidad and El Salvador, they were thumped 4-0 by Ivory Coast in March before losing 1-0 against Austria three days later.

Czechia are of a similar calibre to those two sides, and on current form, they should head into this contest confident of collecting at least a point.

I’m not expecting goals to flow freely in this game, but I would be surprised if we do not see at least two.

Each of Czechia’s last five matches across all competitions have featured a minimum of two goals, including both of their play-off ties against the Republic of Ireland and Denmark. During the group stage of qualifying, all but one of the Czechs’ seven fixtures broke the over 1.5 goal barrier.

The case is strengthened further when you consider that 18 of South Korea’s last 22 matches have also produced two goals or more. Both sides carry an attacking threat, but neither are completely watertight defensively, so goals at both ends are a real possibility.

I think this game has the feel of a 1-1 draw, or a 2-1 win for Czechia.

Vladimir Coufal looks like a strong candidate to commit at least one foul. The Czechia defender was regularly on the referee’s radar when playing away from home during qualifying.

In fact, Coufal committed multiple fouls in each of his three appearances away from home during the group stage. The former West Ham man was also guilty of one foul against the Republic of Ireland in a play-off semi-final earlier this year.

On top of that, Coufal averaged 1.01 fouls per game in the Bundesliga last season, committing at least one foul in seven of his final 10 appearances of the campaign.

He is likely to find himself operating in similar areas of the pitch to South Korea star Heung-min Son, who has drawn an average of 1.78 fouls per game across his four appearances for his country this calendar year.

Patrik Schick looks like the prime candidate to hit the target at least once during this contest.

The Czechia forward is a talismanic figure for his country, with an impressive return of 26 goals in 53 international appearances. Across his eight outings during World Cup qualifying, Schick hit the target a minimum of once in six of those matches, making the net bulge with five of those efforts.

His shots on target numbers were also strong during the recently concluded Bundesliga season, averaging 1.58 shots on target per 90.

Schick is also his side’s designated penalty taker, which only adds to the appeal of siding with this selection.

Look for Tomas Soucek to be fouled at least once against South Korea on Friday. The towering Czech midfielder not only commits plenty of fouls but also wins his side a fair share of free kicks in the midfield battleground.

Soucek was brought down a combined total of eight times across his 10 appearances during qualifying, with six of those free kicks coming away from home. That trend also carried into last season’s Premier League campaign, where Soucek drew an average of 0.90 fouls per game for West Ham, securing his side eight set-pieces across his final seven outings of the campaign.

Soucek is likely to find himself in a midfield battle alongside Hwang In-beom, who has averaged 1.18 fouls per 90 across his last 17 appearances for his country, while also committing an average of 1.00 fouls per 90 for Feyenoord last season.

Edson Alvarez has endured an injury-hit season at Fenerbahce, but he has returned just in time for the World Cup. The 28-year-old is expected to lead his national side as captain, and he should be involved in the opening game here against South Africa. It’s a winnable game on paper for Mexico, and the host nation are likely to be front-footed and aggressive in their approach. 

Alvarez was carded in Mexico’s final warm-up friendly before the World Cup, despite only featuring for the second half. Additionally, it wasn’t the most competitive match, finishing 5-1 against Serbia. 

The former West Ham man made 17 appearances across all competitions this season, and he was shown six yellow cards. In his debut season for the Hammers, Alvarez was booked 17 times from 42 appearances, which shows how he is no stranger to the referee’s notebook.

Khuliso Mudau is expected to start at right back for South Africa at the World Cup, which means he could have a tough matchup against Julian Quinones on the flank for this opening fixture. The 29-year-old scored 33 goals in 31 appearances across all competitions this season, playing for Al-Qadsiah in the Saudi Pro League. Quinones is one of the most dangerous players in the final third for Mexico, so Mudau should have plenty of defensive involvement. 

The full back currently plays for Mamelodi Sundowns, a team who usually dominate their domestic league, but he still picked up 10 yellow cards in 33 appearances across all competitions this campaign. The 31-year-old can often be quite aggressive in his challenges, and this matchup against Quinones will be a step up from the opponents he is used to facing.

Hwang Hee-Chan made 26 appearances for Wolves this season in the Premier League, with just 18 of those being starts. The striker averaged just 56 minutes per match, but he should have a far greater responsibility for his national side at the World Cup this summer. He didn’t have the desired effect, having only scored two league goals. In fact, he managed more yellow cards than goals, with five bookings to his name. 

Hwang has shown a willingness to drop deeper at times to help out his defence - a testament to his impressive work rate. The 30-year-old had an average of 1.73 fouls per 90 last season. There is very little to split South Korea and Czechia on paper, and this match could have massive ramifications on how Group A plays out, so it promises to be quite a competitive affair.

Wolves ranked top of the Premier League charts for total fouls committed in the 25/26 season, so it comes as no surprise that Ladislav Krejci is also a player to target in the cards market. The centre back had an average of 1.11 fouls per 90, which translated to six yellows and one red from his 34 appearances across all competitions. 

Krejci is given a huge responsibility for his national side, and he wears the captain's armband. He played a huge role in their qualification to the World Cup, scoring in both play-off matches, and he had an average of 1.66 fouls per game in Czechia’s nine qualifying games. The 27-year-old was fortunate to escape with just two bookings in that time, considering he recorded at least two fouls in eight of those matches.

I’ve already highlighted Erik Lira as someone to keep an eye on over the course of the tournament, particularly for cards and fouls. 

I’m expecting him to show his aggressive nature from the very first game of the World Cup, he sits at the base of Mexico’s midfield and has committed 15 fouls across eight friendly matches for Mexico in the build up to the competition (2.74 per 90).

He also picked up seven cards domestically last season, so he’s clearly a player to keep an eye on if Mexico do go far at this tournament - it looks like he’s favoured ahead of Edson Alvarez, and it’s possible that his odds for fouls and cards shorten when more people realise just how mental he can be. 

Mexico put five goals past Serbia in their final warm-up game before the World Cup. There’s clearly a very positive atmosphere around the camp, which will only be aided by the side being surrounded by their own fans in all three group games.

They’re taking on the weakest side in Group A in my opinion, South Africa have failed to win any of their warm-up games for the World Cup and also had a pretty kind qualifying group to reach the competition - I think they struggle with the intensity Mexico will play with, as well as the altitude of Estadio Azteca.

South Africa conceded two goals against Panama in their most recent friendly, and also saw 2+ goals in two of their three group games at the African Cup of Nations. I expect Mexico to cover this line on their own in a comfortable victory for the host nation. 

Czechia were very aggressive during qualifying, averaging 15.6 fouls per game - only Lithuania and Bosnia committed more fouls than Miroslav Koubek’s side who will definitely leverage their physicality against a weaker Korea side on paper.

Czechia committed 20 fouls in both of their play-off games to reach the World Cup against Ireland and Denmark. Both of these games did see extra time, but Czechia managed to cover this foul line in normal time in both matches. 

Czechia are very direct and look to make the most of set pieces where they can, 45% of their goals during qualifying came from set pieces - on closer inspection, this is where their foul tallies increase as they tend to be overly physical from these attacking situations. 

Patrick Schick could be a real threat for Czechia at the World Cup, he scored five goals during qualifying which was three more than any other player. 

He’s got a pretty solid record at international level for a nation that don’t have a lot of players to provide him service. He’s netted 26 goals across his 53 caps for his country - and comes into the tournament following a successful season with Leverkusen, scoring 22 goals across 42 appearances.

His five goals during qualifying came from 12 shots on target overall, working out to an average of 1.60 shots on target per 90.