South Africa and Czechia are looking to bounce back from opening day defeats as the teams played out a 1-1 draw in Atlanta as part of Group A action. Both teams are certainly disappointed with both the result and performance.
For Czechia, the second half was disappointing as the team switched to a defensive mindset to hold on to the 1–0 lead. This approach backfired and the team collapsed late and were unable to create meaningful chances to put the game away. As for South Africa, the team struggled out of the gate and made poor saves on Czechia's opening goal.
My four takeaways from the match are:
1. The Czechs' initial offensive approach was more aggressive
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After a 2–1 defeat to South Korea in their opening game, Czechia head coach Miroslav Koubáč adopted a more aggressive starting lineup against South Africa. The hope was that this would create more chances during the game rather than relying on set pieces.
Czechia started the game with a 3-5-2 formation on the front foot which was aggressive.
Koubek's approach paid off hugely as Czechia scored one of the opening goals of the tournament so far. The game began when forward Adam Hlozek chased down a throw-in on the right wing. The Hoffenheim attacker then sent a ball straight out of goal and onto the edge of the 18-yard box. Hlozek's ball found Michael Sadilek, who combined with Aleksandar Sojka to shoot past Ronwayn Williams before collecting the return pass.
Sadilek and Sojka did not start the game, but were two of the five replacements Koubek made in the game to create chances during the game. Tactically, it was a deviation from the opening game as Czechia had more players in attack than at any time during the defeat to South Korea.
The strategic change also brought more players into the game. One of Czechia's problems in the loss to South Korea was their inability to get Patrik Schick into the game. The Bayer Leverkusen forward is not only the team's most important goal-scoring option, but he is also effective in attack through his holdup play.
Against South Korea, Schick had just 11 touches in 63 minutes. In the opening minutes against South Africa, Schick already surpassed his involvement in the opening game.
2. Koubek's failed gamble backfires
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The team's approach changed dramatically after Czechia took the lead. Koubek's team became more defensive and compact. The fullbacks began to sit deeper with Sojka and Vladimir Kufal and assist the backline rather than drive the attack. Then in the 55th minute, central defender Jaroslav Zeleny came into the game for Sojka as part of a tactical change, which gave a boost to the backline.
The conservative shift was more geared towards keeping South Africa at bay rather than finding more targets to put the game out of reach.
During the second half, Czechia lost most of the possession and were cautious in their counter-attacks so as not to be caught out of defensive position. Koubek's assessment was that his team's defense could hold and South Africa would not be able to break into an organized defensive position.
Ultimately, the defensive change backfired in a big way. In the 82nd minute, South African winger Thapelo Maseko made a powerful shot which hit the arm of Pavel Sulch just inside the box. It was a close decision but referee Mary Victoria Penso (who was leading the tournament's first all-American, all-female team) pointed to the spot.
After this, Teboho Mokoena surprisingly scored an equalizing goal. But after South Africa equalised, Czechia did not have as many attackers as they needed to take the lead. Furthermore, Czechia's biggest weapon is its set pieces and the team was unable to create anything dangerous from its set pieces.
3. South Africa moves ahead in the game
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South Africa has had a bad history in the World Cup. This is the team's fourth World Cup and the first three World Cups ended with group stage exits. This draw was a small step in the right direction. It is still impossible to advance as it would require a win over South Korea in the final, but it no longer needs much help from other results. One win would definitely be enough.
South Africa improved throughout the game and began to take the lead in the final 20 minutes of the game. His possession became more effective and at times he was able to get a touch inside the Czechia box.
Apart from converting the penalty, Mokoena also played very well. By the end of the game, he was running the offense. He finished the game with 120 touches and was extremely effective with his passing, with both short passes forward and long-range passes that changed the point of attack.
However, in the end, South Africa could not find any winners and have still not scored any goals during the games in this tournament. It finished with 508 completed passes compared to Czechia's 271 completed passes. That lead led to 17 shots taken and five on target.
South Africa got the support of the crowd and played well in the end. But it had to wait too long to move forward and it wasn't enough.
4. The road ahead is rocky
Both Czechia and South Africa now have the same point after two matches in this World Cup. Now Czechia has to face host Mexico and South Africa has to face South Korea.
Both Czechia and South Africa need to win their group stage finals, in which victory for either side would be an upset. After this game, neither team has much momentum heading into must-win matches against stronger teams.
South Africa will have to play the same way it did in the second half. Czechia will have to rediscover their set piece strengths, as well as press forward from the start and not concede.
Czechia vs South Africa Extended Highlights | 2026 FIFA World Cup™