Unboxing Messi’s inflatable for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Lowe’s sent USA TODAY a 10-foot-tall inflatable Lionel Messi in honor of the 2026 World Cup. You might see them on front lawns this summer, and 20-foot versions can be found outside some stadiums.
South Korea and the Czech Republic will meet in Guadalajara on Thursday night in a Group A clash that concludes the first day of the 2026 World Cup.
South Korea has participated in every World Cup since 1986, and this will be the Czech Republic’s first appearance in 20 years.
Captain Son Heung-min is South Korea’s all-time leader with 144 appearances and needs two more international goals to equal South Korea’s record. The LAFC attacker developed into one of the best players in the world at Tottenham and moved to Major League Soccer in 2025.
Earlier in the day, co-hosts Mexico took control of Group A with a 2-0 victory over South Africa in a match that saw three red cards in the second half.
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Highlights of Korea vs. Czech Republic
- time: 10:00 PM (EST)
- TV channel: FS1
- Streaming: FOX One app
- Spanish broadcast: Telemundo, Peacock
Watch the World Cup with Fubo!
South Korea and Czech Republic kick off 10pm Eastern Time Thursday in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Seth Bartelny: South Korea 2-1 Czech Republic – South Korea has a more talented squad with more World Cup experience. This game should be close, with Taeguk Warriors having a slight lead.
John Arnold: Korea 2-0 Czech Republic – South Korea has been training at high altitude and will likely be able to get the best out of Son early and often, as he has plenty of World Cup experience and will lead an attack that frustrates perhaps the weakest European team that made it to the finals.
Jesse Yomtov: South Korea 3 – 1 Czech Republic – This veteran Korean team, led by Coach Son, will start the tournament on a good note against the Czech Republic.
Victoria Hernandez: South Korea 3 – 0 Czech Republic – Son Heung-min and South Korea will start the tournament with a lot of momentum against a simply weaker Czech team.
korea world cup tickets
Kim Seung-gyu, Kim Min-jae, Lee Han-beom, Lee Ki-hyuk, Seol Young-woo, Lee Jae-sung, Hwang In-beom, Lee Tae-seok, Baek Seung-ho, Son Heung-min, Lee Gang-in
Matej Kováš, Stepan Charoupek, Robin Franács, Ladislav Krejci, Vladimir Coufal, Tomáš Soucek, Aleksandr Sojka, Jaroslav Zeleny, Pavel Shuruk, Patrik Schick, Lukas Provod
Son Heung-min is South Korea’s captain and the all-time leading scorer with 56 goals for his national team. The winger made his name with Hamburg and Leverkusen in the Bundesliga before spending 10 years with Tottenham in the Premier League. He joined LAFC of MLS in August.
Miroslav Koubek is the coach of the Czech national team. He joined the team in December and has only coached the team in four games. He has extensive experience at club level in his home country.
Hong Myung-bo is the coach of the Korean national team. He signed with the team for his second contract with the Taegeuk Warriors in 2024. He previously led the team at the 2014 World Cup, where South Korea was eliminated from the group stage. However, under his leadership they won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
South Korea’s World Cup training camp is being held at Chivas Verde Valle in Guadalajara.
The Czech Republic’s training camp for this tournament is being held at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield, Texas.
See the complete list of World Cup training camps here.
South Korea arrived at Estadio Akron to play the first match of the 2026 World Cup against the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic will be in Group A for the 2026 World Cup, making it their 10th appearance in a world tournament and the first in 20 years. The history of this country in this competition is as follows.
- Total number of appearances: 10
- First appearance: 1934
- Best finish: Runner-up in 1934 and 1962
- Performance at the 2022 World Cup: I didn’t qualify
- Last World Cup: 2006
South Korea will be in Group A for the 2026 World Cup, making it their 12th appearance at the world tournament. The history of this country in this competition is as follows.
- Total number of appearances: 12
- First appearance: 1954
- Best finish: 4th place in 2002
- Performance at the 2022 World Cup: Eliminated in round of 16
Group A (Mexico) | Group B | Group C | Group D (USMNT) | Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H | Group I | Group J | Group K | Group L
- June 11th vs. Czech Republic – Guadalajara, 10pm ET – buy tickets
- June 18 vs. Mexico – Guadalajara, 9pm – buy tickets
- June 24 vs South Africa – Monterrey, 9pm – buy tickets
- June 11 vs. South Korea – Guadalajara, 10pm ET – buy tickets
- June 18 vs. South Africa – Atlanta, 12pm ET – buy tickets
- June 24 vs. Mexico – Mexico City, 9pm ET – buy tickets
Goalkeeper: Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan), Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo), Son Bum-geun (Jeonbuk)
Defender: Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Kim Tae-hyung (Kashima Antlers), Park Jin-seop (Zhejiang), Seol Yong-woo (Red Star Belgrade), Jens Kastrup (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Lee Ki-hyuk (Enuma Vienna), Lee Tae-tae (Mid Tiran), Cho Yu-min (Sharjah)
Midfielder: Kim Jin-gyu (Jeonbuk), Bae Joon-ho (Stoke City), Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham), Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic), Um Ji-sung (Swansea), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Lee Dong-kyung (Hwang) (Hwang), Lee Hee-sung (Maldor) Hwang, Hwang (Wolves)
forward: Son Heung-min (LAFC), Oh Hyung-kyu (Besitkas), Cho Gu-sung (Mid Tyrann)
Goalkeeper: Lukasz Horníček (Braga), Maciej Kováš (PSV Eindhoven), Jindřich Staněk (Slavia Prague)
Defender: Vladimir Coufal (Hoffenheim), David Dudela (Slavia Prague), Tomáš Hores (Slavia Prague), Robin Franács (Hoffenheim), Štepan Chalopek (Slavia Prague), David Jurasek (Slavia Prague), Ladislav Krejci (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Jaroslav Zeleny (Slavia Prague), David Zima (Slavia Prague)
Midfielder: Lukas Červ (Viktoria Plzen), Vladimir Dalida (Hradec Králové), Lukás Provod (Slavia Prague), Michal Sadilek (Slavia Prague), Ugo Sohorek (Sparta Prague), Aleksandr Sojka (Viktoria Plzen), Tomáš Soucek (West Ham) United), Pavel Shuruk (Lyon), Denis Vyshinsky (Viktoria Plzen)
forward: Adam Hlozek (Hoffenheim), Tomáš Choli (Slavia Prague), Mosimir Chytil (Slavia Prague), Jan Kuchta (Sparta Prague), Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen)
Atlanta | Boston | Dallas | Houston | Kansas City | Miami | Los Angeles | Philadelphia | New York | San Francisco | Seattle | Guadalajara | Mexico City | Monterrey | Toronto | Vancouver
The top two teams in each group advance to the Round of 32 along with the top eight third-place teams. Tiebreakers for group standings will be resolved using the following criteria:
- Most points earned in group matches between the teams
- Advantage in goal difference between the teams in group matches
- Most points scored in all group matches between the teams
- The goal difference is large in all group stage games.
- Most points scored in all group league matches
- Highest team behavior score (players and team officials) related to number of yellow and red cards obtained
- Two or more teams tied on points will be ranked according to the latest edition of the FIFA Men’s World Rankings.
