Czech Republic vs South Africa 
The pick
Win, draw, and loss probabilities and expected goals are from our team-strength model. Public consensus from 1 source: Oddschecker.
Head to head
Expected shapes: Czech Republic 3-4-2-1, South Africa 4-3-3.
Czech Republic Czech Republic South AfricaKey players to watch
Czech Republic Czech Republic Czech Republic South AfricaProjected XIs
Most-likely starting elevens based on recent selections.
Czech Republic- 1M Kovar
- 2V Coufal
- 3M Vitík
- 4L Krejci
- 5J Zeleny
- 6L Cerv
- 7T Soucek
- 8L Provod
- 9P Sulc
- 10V Kusej
- 11T Chory
South Africa- 1R Williams
- 2K Mudau
- 3I Okon
- 4M Mbokazi
- 5A Modiba
- 6T Mokoena
- 7J Adams
- 8B Hlongwane
- 9R Mofokeng
- 10T Moremi
- 11L Foster
Storylines
Czechia vs. South Africa World Cup Picks: Czech Quality Too Much for Bafana Bafana? (June 18)
Czechia, who survived back-to-back playoff penalty shootouts to qualify, are favored over a South Africa side that topped a CAF group ahead of Nigeria; the storyline pits Czechia's European-league attacking quality and Schick's finishing against Bafana Bafana's discipline and keeper Ronwen Williams' shootout pedigree.
Czech Republic vs South Africa Prediction
Preview frames Czechia as slight favorites (around 2.04 to win) on superior attacking quality and major-league experience, but expects a tight, competitive match that Czechia edge through finishing.
Player ratings are EA Sports FC 26 attributes, used here as a consistent, public proxy for player quality. Squad-level comparisons cover the players we could rate; coverage varies by team.