1 hour ago
Key events
And your past reminder for astatine slightest 15 minutes that Alex Abnos is search Czechia’s effort to do nan intolerable successful Azteca …
In lawsuit I haven’t mentioned, this crippled is successful Estadio Monterrey, successful nan Monterrey suburbs.
Reminder of what’s astatine stake
Here are nan group standings:
6 pts. Mexico – group winner
3 pts. South Korea, 0 extremity difference
1 pt. Czechia, -1 GD
1 pt. South Africa, -2 GD
So if South Korea win, they’re 2nd successful nan group and will beforehand to look Canada successful Temporarily Renamed Los Angeles Stadium.
If these teams draw, South Korea will beryllium 2nd successful nan group unless Czechia propulsion disconnected nan intolerable and triumph successful Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca against nan location team. Even then, South Korea would almost surely advance. I ran nan likelihood coming and recovered that nan likelihood of immoderate 4-point squad being kept retired of nan information of 32 is little than 1%.
If South Africa triumph … repetition everything I conscionable said astir South Korea. If that happens, South Korea will person a long, tense hold to spot if they beforehand arsenic a third-place squad pinch a reasonable extremity difference.
Referee pinch an absorbing history
Facundo Tello (Argentina) is noteworthy for respective reasons, including these:
1. He was nan only South American referee selected to activity astatine Euro 2024. Scotland were upset pinch him, to nan grade that Steve Clarke questioned nan believe of bringing a referee from different continent to nan Euros. As we each know, European referees are infallible. Especially nan usage of VAR successful nan Premier League. Polished and ever correct. Is it clear yet that I’m not being serious?
Guardian podcasters reviewed nan play successful mobility and came up pinch a statement “... maybe”?
2. He showed 10 (ten) reddish cards successful nan 2022 Argentine Champions Trophy final. Seven of them, though, were awarded erstwhile nan subordinate who scored Racing’s winning extremity celebrated a spot excessively overmuch for Boca Juniors, starring to a melee successful which 5 Boca players and 2 Racing players were sent off. Until then, it was your run-of-the-mill 10v9 game.
His card-dealing has caused some trepidation successful South Korea.
That said, he was besides nan referee erstwhile South Korea precocious to nan knockout rounds successful 2022 pinch a precocious victor against Portugal.
One different note: He was nan referee for nan DR Congo vs. Jamaica intercontinental World Cup qualifying playoff but had to time off injured successful nan 111th minute.
ARs are chap Argentinians Juan Pablo Belatti and Gabriel Chade. More unusually, nan caput VAR is besides from Argentina – Hernán Mastrangelo.
It’s a large evening for officials from Argentina: Yael Falcon Perez is nan halfway ref successful nan different group lucifer moving astatine nan aforesaid time, Czechia v Mexico.
Ian Williams takes up nan task of uncovering matchups successful immoderate athletics betwixt South Africa and South Korea. He recovered 3 matches successful lucky of nan section variety, all draws. Back successful men’s soccer, they met successful nan 1997 U-20 World Cup – also a draw. Finally, successful 2019, South Korea took a 1-0 triumph complete South Africa successful nan 2017 U-20 World Cup. That Korean squad reached nan last earlier falling to Ukraine.
Team XIs: Son benched
SOUTH AFRICA
Williams; Modiba, Mbokazi, Okon, Mudau; Sithole, Mbatha, Mofokeng; Appollis, Makgopa, Maseko
Relebohile Mofokeng and Evidence Makgopa switch Jayden Adams and Igraam Rayners, some of whom had started some games truthful far. The large change, though, is that Sphephelo Sithole returns aft a one-match prohibition to switch Teboho Mokoena, who has South Africa’s only extremity successful this World Cup and was hailed arsenic Bafana Bafana’s “glue player” successful our squad guideline (see below). Mokoena is suspended owed to an accumulation of yellowish cards. Themba Zwane received a three-match prohibition aft seeing reddish successful nan opener.
All but 7 South African players are successful their country’s home league. Sithole (Tondela, Portugal) is 1 exception. Young players Mbekezeli Mbokazi (Chicago) and Olwethu Makhanya (Philadelphia) play successful Major League Soccer. Kyle Foster (Burnley) is nan only subordinate who spent past play successful 1 of nan glitzier European leagues.
SOUTH KOREA
Kim Seung-gyu; Lee Gi-hyuk, Kim Min-jae, Lee Han-boem; Seol Young-woo, Paik Seung-ho, Hwang In-beom, Kim Moon-hwan; Lee Jae-sung, Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in
Lee Kang-in is nan only holdover from nan frontline that started nan first 2 games. Hwang Hee-chan and Oh Hyeon-gyu commencement successful spot of Lee Jae-sung and … Son Heung-min? The man who spent a dazzling decade astatine Tottenham Hotspur and now plays pinch Los Angeles FC is disposable connected nan bench.
Our squad guideline notes immoderate consternation complete Hong Myung-bo’s switching from nan information of a backmost 4 to a much daring 3-4-3. Hong was successful complaint of South Korea’s winless 2014 run and returned to nan occupation erstwhile erstwhile U.S. coach Jürgen Klinsmann was dismissed. (He besides played a bit, I hear.)
As a kid of nan 70s, I’m somewhat baffled that nan John Denver classical Take Me Home Country Roads has go nan unofficial taxable opus of this World Cup. I’m guessing very fewer of nan group singing on person been to “the spot I belong, West Virginia.”
It’s beautiful, though.
One squad successful nan 48-team section chose a tract successful West Virginia for their training base. Can you sanction that team?
Preamble
South Africa person ne'er precocious past nan group shape of nan World Cup.
Ever.
They were banned for decades and qualified for nan last tourney for nan first clip successful 2018, taking 2 draws and a loss. They picked up their first triumph successful 2002 but agonizingly missed advancing connected nan goals-scored tiebreaker.
The only different clip Bafana Bafana person qualified for nan large creation was erstwhile they hosted successful 2010, wherever they took a sensational triumph complete France successful their last group-stage crippled but missed nan knockout rounds connected extremity difference.
South Korea person besides hosted nan World Cup successful this century, and they made nan astir of it. In 4 erstwhile appearances, they had not managed a win. In 2002, they won 3 games and reached nan semifinals. They’ve qualified for each last tourney since past and reached nan knockout rounds twice.
This is nan first matchup betwixt these 2 countries successful nan men’s World Cup. I’m really trying to spot if they’ve ever played each different successful anything.
To travel nan concurrent crippled successful nan group, please subordinate Alex Abnos astatine nan nexus below:
Beau will beryllium present shortly. In nan meantime, here’s what everyone needs successful nan group:
Mexico are done arsenic group winners and will look a third-placed squad from Group C, E, F, H aliases I. South Korea could lucifer their points full but Mexico hit them truthful would beryllium apical connected head-to-head.
South Korea would guarantee qualification pinch a triumph aliases tie against South Africa.
Czechia would advancement successful 2nd if they hit Mexico, South Africa hit South Korea and they yet decorativeness supra South Africa. Should they triumph and decorativeness 3rd they whitethorn person a route.
South Africa advancement successful 2nd if they hit South Korea and yet decorativeness supra Czechia. Should they triumph and decorativeness 3rd they whitethorn person a route.
You tin publication each nan World Cup permutations here:
