Czechia and South Africa meet on Thursday in Atlanta as both sides seek to recover from opening-round defeats at the FIFA World Cup. The match is scheduled for June 18 at 6 p.m. CAT (12 p.m. local time in Atlanta, 4 p.m. GMT, 5 p.m. BST) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with SuperSport carrying the game in South Africa (channels 201, 202, 235 and 490), FOX holding English-language rights in the USA and the BBC broadcasting in the UK via iPlayer and BBC Sport, according to the source.
South Africa lost 2-0 to Mexico in their opener as Julián Quiñones opened the scoring in the ninth minute and Raúl Jiménez added a second in the 67th, a match that also featured red cards for Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane for Bafana Bafana and a late red for Mexico’s César Montes. Czechia fell 2-1 to South Korea after Ladislav Krejčí put the Repre ahead shortly before the hour, but Hong Myungbo’s side rallied with goals from Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu. Both teams registered low possession figures in their openers, South Africa 39% and Czechia 38%, reflecting pragmatic, defensive setups, according to the source.
Sithole and Zwane are suspended for the Atlanta game and will serve one-match bans, making them available again for South Africa’s final group fixture against South Korea. Hugo Broos drew criticism for a defensive 5-3-2 against Mexico that left Relebohile Mofokeng and Oswin Appollis — two of his more adventurous ball carriers — on the bench; Appollis featured briefly late and Mofokeng entered as a late substitute. The source notes Bafana have few players who match Czechia’s physicality but possess individuals capable of unlocking tight defences.
Expected starters listed in the source include Matěj Kovář in goal for Czechia with Ladislav Krejčí, Robin Hranáč and Štěpán Chaloupek across the back, Vladimír Coufal and Jaroslav Zelený as wing-backs, Tomáš Souček and Alexandr Sojka in midfield and Patrik Schick leading the attack. South Africa are pencilled to start Ronwen Williams in goal, a back four of Aubrey Modiba, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Ime Okon and Khuliso Mudau, midfielders Jayden Adams and Teboho Mokoena and an attacking group featuring Oswin Appollis, Relebohile Mofokeng, Kamogelo Sebelebele and Lyle Foster.
The nations have met only once before, a 2-2 draw in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup in which current South African assistant Helman Mkhalele scored a late equaliser. South Africa recorded only one successful dribble — by Jayden Adams — in their opener, and the key tactical question for coaches Hugo Broos and Miroslav Koubek is whether to stick with conservative setups or change approach, according to the source.
