Group A · FIFA World Cup 2026
Czechia vs South Africa
Czechia vs South Africa at FIFA World Cup 2026. Thu, Jun 18, 04:00 PM UTC. Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Kickoff
Venue
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Atlanta
Capacity
75,000
Match facts
Group A · Czechia – South Africa · Kickoff · Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta.
Final score: CZE 1–1 RSA. Pre-kickoff model favorite: CZE 56% — miss. Scored in the public AI track record.
Updated · Not betting advice.
AI Post-Match Analysis
Full-time fact packScore: 1–1AI data updated:
Multi-model consensus
5 of 5 models agreeFacts favour the home side
Competitive profileDecisive factor: Higher FIFA ranking and Elo rating for Czechia
Data comparison
Elo ratingΔ 121
Czechia
1680
South Africa
1559
FIFA ranking: #41 vs #56
Head-to-head
First ever meeting between these sides
Source: eloratings.net — descriptive strength rating, not a prediction
Key players — Czechia
- Patrik Schick · Offence — Patrik Schick is listed as Offence; roster age 30; DOB 1996-01-24.
- Tomáš Souček · Midfield — Tomáš Souček is listed as Midfield; roster age 31; DOB 1995-02-27.
- Vladimír Darida · Midfield — Vladimír Darida is listed as Midfield; roster age 35; DOB 1990-08-08.
Key players — South Africa
- Lyle Foster · Offence — Lyle Foster is listed as Offence; roster age 25; DOB 2000-09-04.
- Themba Zwane · Midfield — Themba Zwane is listed as Midfield; roster age 36; DOB 1989-08-03.
- Mbekezeli Mbokazi · Defence — Mbekezeli Mbokazi is listed as Defence; roster age 20; DOB 2005-09-19.
Tactical angle
Match status: ft; score CZE 1-1 RSA. This post-match update covers Czechia (CZE) and South Africa (RSA). Elo lists CZE at 1680 and RSA at 1559, a 121 point gap. Roster data lists CZE with 26 players at average age 27.2, and RSA with 26 players at average age 26.3.
What to watch
- • Match status: ft; score CZE 1-1 RSA for CZE vs RSA.
- • Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, USA.
- • Scheduled UTC: 2026-06-18T16:00:00Z.
Fact box
- • Scheduled UTC: 2026-06-18T16:00:00Z.
- • Status: ft / CZE 1-1 RSA
- • Match status: ft; score CZE 1-1 RSA for CZE vs RSA.
- • Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, USA.
- • FIFA ranks: CZE 41, RSA 56.
deepseek-v4-pro]✓ kimi-k2.5]eloratings.net · football-data.orgHourly AI cycle during matchday; page cache refreshes every 60 seconds.
Generated from verified structured match data and cross-checked by a second model. Informational only — no predictions, no betting advice.
Kickoff time by timezone
GoalPulse keeps the canonical fixture time in UTC, then renders venue local time and UTC+8 for Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur searchers.
Venue local time
America/New_York
Local stadium time, generated with the venue IANA timezone rather than the server timezone.
UTC+8 time
Asia/Shanghai
Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur all use UTC+8 during the tournament window, so the clock time is identical.
Canonical UTC
UTC
Canonical source timestamp used by schema, datasets and downstream feeds.
Czechia local time
Europe/Prague
Primary home-market time for Czechia; useful when team-country time differs from venue, UTC or UTC+8.
South Africa local time
Africa/Johannesburg
Primary home-market time for South Africa; useful when team-country time differs from venue, UTC or UTC+8.
Match quick answers
When is Czechia vs South Africa?
Czechia vs South Africa finished 1-1 after the Thu, Jun 18, 04:00 PM UTC kickoff. Venue local time is Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT; UTC+8 time for Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur is Fri, Jun 19, 2026, 12:00 AM GMT+8. Team-local checks: Czechia local time: Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 06:00 PM GMT+2; South Africa local time: Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 06:00 PM GMT+2.GoalPulse keeps the final score, match status and source-backed fixture links on this page.
Where is Czechia vs South Africa played?
The match is played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States, a venue with capacity for 75,000 supporters.
What stage is this match?
This is a group stage match in Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The top two teams in the group and the eight best third-placed teams advance to the Round of 32.
What are the FIFA rankings and coaches?
Czechia are FIFA-ranked #41 and coached by Ivan Hašek. South Africa are FIFA-ranked #56 and coached by Hugo Broos.
Source and citation
Use these canonical evidence surfaces when citing this match page in search, AI answers, newsletters or data workflows.
Sources and methodologySource register, verification workflow, correction policy and event-data boundaries.Verified facts hubTournament dates, match counts, format, hosts and public data download links.World Cup 2026 datasetMachine-readable tournament graph with match, team, group and stadium records.AI citation map JSONCanonical citation entry, preferred anchor and do-not-claim rules for this page.
Match preview
Czechia face South Africa in the group stage Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Thursday, June 18, 2026. The match kicks off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States, a venue with a capacity of 75,000.
Czechia enter as the higher-ranked side (FIFA #41) against South Africa (#56). The a modest ranking gap between the two sides is 15 places. This is a cross-confederation clash: UEFA vs CAF.
Czechia are coached by Ivan Hašek, while South Africa are led by Hugo Broos. Both managers have shaped distinct identities for their squads in the build-up to North America 2026.
In Group A, only the top two teams advance directly to the round of 32, with the third-placed team competing for one of the eight best third-place spots across all 12 groups. A result here can shape the group quickly because the expanded format leaves less recovery margin than a simple top-two table.
FIFA World Cup 2026 is the first edition with 48 teams, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026. A total of 104 matches will be played, the highest in tournament history.
