World Cup 2026 Group A
Mexico won Group A at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with 9 points, ahead of South Africa on 4. South Korea finished third and Czech Republic bottom, from a group of Czech Republic, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea.
BY THE PLAYSPINWHEEL EDITORIAL TEAM · UPDATED · DATA REFRESHED EACH BUILD
Group A standings
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +6 | 9 |
| South Africa | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 4 |
| South Korea | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| Czech Republic | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -4 | 1 |
Group A fixtures
| FIXTURE | KICKOFF (UTC) | VENUE |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico vs South Africa | JUN 11 · 19:00 UTC | Estadio Azteca |
| South Korea vs Czech Republic | JUN 12 · 02:00 UTC | Estadio Akron |
| Czech Republic vs South Africa | JUN 18 · 16:00 UTC | Mercedes-Benz Stadium |
| Mexico vs South Korea | JUN 19 · 01:00 UTC | Estadio Akron |
| South Africa vs South Korea | JUN 25 · 01:00 UTC | Estadio BBVA |
| Czech Republic vs Mexico | JUN 25 · 01:00 UTC | Estadio Azteca |
How did Group A finish?
Group A draws its four teams from 4 confederations: CONCACAF (North, Central America & Caribbean), CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia) and UEFA (Europe). None of the four has won the World Cup; the most seasoned side is Mexico, whose best finish is quarter-finals (1970, 1986). Between them the four sides brought 32 previous World Cup appearances into 2026.
Mexico won Group A with 9 points (3 wins, 6 goals scored), ahead of South Africa on 4; both advanced to the Round of 32. Across its six matches the group produced 12 goals, the highest-scoring of them South Korea 2-1 Czech Republic.
Group A put 2 teams into the knockout rounds. Mexico went out in the round of 16, 3-2 to England. South Africa went out in the round of 32, 1-0 to Canada. South Korea's third place was not among the eight best thirds, so their tournament ended with the group stage.
How do teams qualify from Group A?
Mexico qualified as group winners on 9 points from 3 matches, scoring 6 and conceding 0. South Africa took the second automatic place with 4 points, 1 clear of South Korea. South Korea's 3 points missed the eight-best-thirds cut, so Group A sent only its top two through. Czech Republic finished bottom on 1 point.
Group A: quick answers
- Which teams are in Group A at the 2026 World Cup?
- Group A is made up of Czech Republic, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. Each team plays the other three once, so the group is decided over six matches.
- Who qualified from Group A?
- Mexico won Group A and South Africa finished second, so both advanced to the Round of 32.
- How do teams qualify from Group A?
- The top two teams in Group A advance to the Round of 32 automatically. Because 2026 has twelve groups feeding a 32-team knockout round, the eight best third-placed teams across the tournament also go through, so only the team finishing fourth is certain to be eliminated. Ties are broken by goal difference, then goals scored, then the head-to-head result.
- How many matches does Group A play?
- Six: every team meets each of the other three once. 6 of those fixtures are confirmed in the schedule on this page, each with its kickoff time in UTC.
- Where are Group A matches played?
- Group A fixtures are hosted at Estadio Azteca, Estadio Akron, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Estadio BBVA. Every match on this page links to its stadium page with capacity, city, and the full list of matches held there.
See all twelve World Cup 2026 groups →
Where this data comes from
Every fixture, group, result, and venue on this page is compiled at build time and checked against the official sources below before release. Spot something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.
- FIFA: Official tournament site: fixtures, results, groups, and venue assignments.
- football-data.org: Free football data API. Feeds the build-time results and standings refresh.
- TheSportsDB: Open sports database. Used for team badges and reference metadata.
- Wikipedia: 2026 FIFA World Cup: Independent cross-reference for tournament format, history, and all-time records.