The A, B, C, D... of this World Cup
Updated On: 10 June, 2026 09:01 AM IST | Mumbai | Ashwin Ferro
As the FIFA World Cup kicks off in USA, Canada & Mexico tomorrow, mid-day slides in to tackle the 12 groups and 48 teams involved
Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal and Vinicius Jr. Pics/AFP
Group A: Mexico, Korea Republic, South Africa, Czechia
Being co-hosts and having underperformed at the last few World Cups, Mexico are good enough to soak in all the pressure they will be subjected to. South Africa, who’ve had 12 different goal-scorers in the qualifiers, have proved that they don’t rely on one or two strikers, which is a great thing. Returning to the World Cup after 20 years, Czechia will be keen to add a new chapter to their football story while South Korea won’t have it easy.
Players to watch: Raul Jimenez (Mexico), Ronwen Williams (SA), Patrick Schick (Czechia), Son Heung-min (South Korea)
Group B: Canada, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland
World No. 30 Canada have a favourable group with just Switzerland (No. 19) being higher ranked, meaning the co-hosts can qualify for Rd 2 by finishing second in the group, beating Qatar (No. 57) and a gritty Bosnia & Herzegovina (No. 64), who qualified after ousting former champs Italy.
Players to watch: Jonathan David (Canada), Granit Xhaka (Switzerland), Esmir Bajraktarevic (Bosnia)
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