Mexico
Manager: Javier Aguirre.
World Cup history: 18th appearance. Best result – quarter-finals 1970 and 1986.
Mexico must top Group A to set up a last-16 tie against England at the Azteca Stadium. If they finish second or worse, Aguirre has probably got his line-up wrong, as happened during his second stint as Mexico manager at the 2010 World Cup when he benched Manchester United’s Javier Chicharito Hernández. Only one striker can lead the line from the Colombian-born Julián Quiñones, AC Milan’s Santiago Gimenez or the 35-year-old Raúl Jiménez.
Star man: Gilberto Mora. Barcelona and Real Madrid are tracking the 17-year-old attacking midfielder and the stage is set for the tournament’s youngest player to dribble his way to global fame.
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South Africa
Manager: Hugo Broos
World Cup history: Fourth appearance. Best result – eliminated at group stage in 1998, 2002 and 2010.
Saipan vibes coming from Bafana-Bafana. Failure to secure any useful warm-up matches and a sloppy squad announcement before an administrative mishap around visas delayed departure for their camp in Mexico, all point to an early exit and zero points.
Star man: Lyle Foster. The Burnley striker only managed eight goals from 50 appearances in the Premier League across two of the past three seasons.
South Korea
Manager: Myung-bo Hong
World Cup history: 12th appearance. Best result – fourth in 2002.
South Korea against the Czech Republic in Guadalajara, kick-off 3am on June 12th, would have been Ireland’s opening match at the World Cup. The Koreans look like the strongest side in Group A, boasting real quality in Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder Jens Castrop and Paris Saint-Germain winger Lee Kang-in.
Star man: Son Heung-min. The former Spurs attacker, now at LAFC in the MLS, should prove the point of difference against Mexico on June 18th.
Czech Republic
Manager: Miroslav Koubek.
World Cup history: 10th appearance. Best result – runners up in 1934 and 1962.
Koubek steadied the ship after a calamitous qualification campaign led to Ivan Hasek being sacked as manager and Tomáš Souček stripped of the captaincy before the West Ham midfielder made a huge impact off the bench against Ireland in the March playoffs. Knockout specialists, having never lost a penalty shoot-out, they have a classy striker in Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick and a gritty young leader in Wolves defender Ladislav Krejčí.
Star man: Pavel Sulc. Coming off an excellent season at Lyon, the 25-year-old scored a sensational early goal against Denmark in the playoff final.
