Now that we’ve seen each team once in this tournament, the mindset changes a bit.  I have a better idea of what each team is and what they need to do now to try to advance.  Let’s take a look at how things played out for these teams in their second games of this wonderful competition:

Czechia 1-1 South Africa

After each team lost their opener, they really needed to get something from this game.  It probably needed to be 3 points as neither side will be favored in their final group game.  Czechia wasted no time and got their goal in the 6th minute through Michal Sadliek.  With South Africa coming out of their first game looking like one of the worst teams in the tournament, it felt like Czechia were easily going to handle their business and get the three points. 

But of course, this is the 2026 World Cup.  There had to be some drama.  South Africa would go on and equalize in the 83rd after a handball in the box from Pavel Sulc.  Teboho Mokoena stepped up and buried the pk.  They even had a couple decent chances to get a winner in stoppage time but ended up with a point.

My feeling coming out of this one is that Czechia were way too relaxed after scoring.  There was so much game left to play.  It’s like they thought they could be conservative just guarantee 3 points.  It obviously wasn’t the right mindset.  Credit to South Africa for getting their moment.  But Czechia needed to do much better.  This draw makes me feel that neither team will advance out of the group, not even as one of the 8 third place teams.

Switzerland 4-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina

This game was a classic case of the scoreline not being indicative of how it played out.  Switzerland were favorites going in but didn’t look all that convincing for the first 70 minutes or so.  It was their substitutes that got things going when Ruben Vargas assisted Johan Manzambi in the 74th minute.  Manzambi hit a brilliant close range volley to give the Swiss their lead.  Over the next ten minutes, Bosnia would get a red card and Vargas would get a goal of his own.  Manzambi would get a second in the 90th minute but the scoring wasn’t done there.  Bosnia’s Ermin Mahmic would hit a volley of his own to pull one back in stoppage time but Granit Xhaka scored a penalty with the last kick of the ball to restore the three goal lead for Switzerland.

While the result was great for the Swiss, the performance wasn’t.  At least for the majority of the game.  They’ll be hoping they can take some momentum from their sensational final 20 minutes.  Bosnia are still not out of it.  It’s a benefit of the expanded field.  A win over Qatar in their final game would go a long way to getting them through, possibly as one of the 8 best third placed teams.

Canada 6-0 Qatar

Coming into this World Cup, both Canada and Qatar were searching for their first ever points in the competition.  They both scored their first and only goal in a World Cup in 2022.  And, both secured their first point in their opener this time around.  This game was going to be about who could step forward and really get their World Cup going.  It was no surprise that it ended up being Canada.

Canada blew Qatar away in the first half with relentless energy.  Cyle Larin got the scoring started in the 16th minute.  He scored Canada’s late equalizer against Bosnia in the opener after coming off the bench.  It earned him a start here and he rewarded Jesse Marsch for the decision.  Jonathan David would add a second for Canada in the 29th.  Two minutes later, Qatar’s Homam Elamin was sent off for dogso.  I thought it was a harsh call and it just further compounded Qatar’s issues.  David would score again just before halftime and Canada were cruising.

The second half saw another 3 Canada goals and another Qatar red card.  The third Canadian goal of the half was another one for Jonathan David, giving him a hat trick on the night.  The bigger moment was the red card.  Canada midfielder Ismael Kone appeared to break his leg after being fouled by Assim Madibo.  Awful moment and I wish Kone a speedy recovery. 

This surely marks the end of Qatar’s tournament.  For Canada, they deserve credit for taking it to Qatar.  But the scoreline here was greatly affected by the two Qatar red cards.  I’m not ready to say they’re going on any sort of run this tournament.

Mexico 1-0 South Korea

This was the marquee game heading into the day.  It became even more important once Czechia and South Africa drew.  That result meant 3 points for either team here would result in them winning the group.  Mexico were able to get it done.

I thought Mexico started well but South Korea really took over with possession for the second part of the first half.  The problem was they didn’t really look to score.  It almost looked like they were trying to kill off a game that they were leading.  South Korea were then the orchestrators of their own downfall early in the second half.  Goalkeeper Kim Seung-Gyu came out for a cross but spilled it, giving Mexico’s Luis Romo the opportunity to put the ball into an empty net.  That ended up being the difference.

I just feel South Korea were way too passive.  Once they started to really push for a goal late on, they looked pretty good.  But it was just too little, too late.  Mexico did play well and were probably the better side but not by much.  It’s just really frustrating that they were essentially gifted this game by a goalkeeping error.  They now get to fully rest for the final group game as they prepare for the round of 32.

Stray Thoughts

• What a cool stadium they have over there in Guadalajara.  I didn’t notice it until the Mexico/South Korea game
• Speaking of Mexico/South Korea, it was a nice change to have one of the bigger games be the closer.  I feel like up until now, for the most part we’ve had the bigger nations playing earlier in the day with some of the lesser teams playing late at night.
• It’s about time we talk about my favorite subject: tiebreakers.  FIFA changed the rules this year so for the first time since 1970, it’s head to head results that are the primary tiebreaker.  That’s how Mexico was able to win their group.  I think this makes logical sense but it also really bothers me because I hate change.  Guess I’ll have to suck it up and get used to it.
• What an interesting Matchday this was.  14 goals!  And just some overall bizarre stuff.  The two red cards for Qatar, a devastating injury for Canada, and a goalkeeper error that made Mexico the first team to move on officially.  Speaking of the groups, this is where things stand:

Mexico have won group A, with South Korea in a good spot to finish second as they take on South Africa in the final game.  Czechia will be playing a Mexico side with nothing to play for, so they are still alive for a third place qualification spot or possibly even second depending on South Korea’s result.

The final Matchday for Group B will see Canada take on Switzerland in a game that will decide the group winner.  A win or a draw for Canada will see them finish first while the Swiss need to win to finish top.  For Bosnia and Qatar, they would need to win by an incredible amount of goals to get to second in the group.  More realistically, three points would get the winner to third but they likely still would have to improve their goal difference to get one of the 8 best third place spots.

We have a big Matchday 9 ahead of us with the USMNT taking the field against Australia to kick things off.  Scotland/Morocco, Brazil/Haiti, and Turkiye/Paraguay round the day out.  Can’t wait to see how it all plays out.  See you then.