Preview: Czech Republic vs Mexico - prediction, team news, lineups

Czech Republic meet hosts Mexico at the Estadio Banorte on Thursday morning in the final round of group matches in this summer's FIFA World Cup.

Narodak could only manage a draw against South Africa in their previous tournament outing, while Mexico grabbed their second win of the campaign against South Korea.

Match preview

With just a singular point after their two matches so far, it is imperative that Czech Republic win their final group game if they want to be competing in the knockout stages of this summer’s World Cup.

Despite taking the lead on the hour mark, Narodak conceded twice within the space of 13 minutes and had a goal chalked off for offside as they started their campaign with a disappointing defeat to South Korea at the Estadio Akron.

That result was followed by a score draw against South Africa on Thursday evening, with Miroslav Koubek’s side again taking the lead before conceding a late Teboho Mokoen penalty to drop yet more points.

Although they currently sit third in Group A, it is highly unlikely that any less than three points would take Czech Republic through to the knockouts, meaning they face the monumental task of beating flawless hosts Mexico at the Estadio Banorte.

However, that is by no means impossible for Narodak, who won 2-1 in their only previous meeting with El Tricolor 26 years ago.

Currently sat top of Group A with six points, three goals scored and zero conceded, hosts Mexico have experienced a dream start to the 2026 World Cup.

In their opening match, El Tricolor welcomed South Africa to the Estadio Banorte and after what was an action packed contest including three sending offs, Javier Aguirre’s side prevailed as 2-0 victors thanks to goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez.

This was then followed up by a tough test against South Korea, which the hosts also passed with flying colours, coping well with the Taegeuk Warriors' persistent threat to grind out a 1-0 victory and leave them with the perfect record heading into the final group match.

After opening the gap at the top to three points with their victory against Hong Myung-bo's side, Mexico confirmed a place in the knockout rounds of the competition, a stage at which they have not won a game in 40 years.

However, although it is highly likely that Mexico will finish first in Group A, Aguirre's men can confirm a more favourable Round of 32 draw by avoiding defeat against Czech Republic on Thursday and sealing top spot.

Czech Republic World Cup form:

Czech Republic form (all competitions):

Mexico World Cup form:

Mexico form (all competitions):

Team News

After sustaining a brutal thigh injury whilst training with the side earlier in the month, Czech Republic defender David Jurasek will be unavailable for the remainder of the tournament and is set to return at the end of July.

Although they have been largely underwhelming, it is likely that Narodak stick with a similar lineup to their first two matches, with Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ladislav Krejci captaining the side and Bayer Leverkusen's Patrik Schick leading the line.

Following his red card in the opening match against South Africa, Cesar Montes served his one game suspension against South Korea and will be available again for Mexico on Thursday.

Having already sealed qualification to the knockouts, it would be no surprise if Aguirre made some changes to his lineup and rests some of El Tricolor's big names like Edson Alvarez, Quinones and Jimenez.

Czech Republic possible starting lineup:

Kovar; Holes, Hranac, Krejci; Coufal, Darida, Cerv, Sadilek, Sojka; Schick, Hlozek

Mexico possible starting lineup:

Rangel; Sanchez, Reyes, Vasquez, Gallardo; Gutierrez, Lira, Romo; Alvarado, Gimenez, Quinones

We say: Czech Republic 1-2 Mexico

With so much at stake heading into the final group games of the tournament, we expect Czech Republic's encounter with Mexico at the Estadio Banorte will be a cagey affair with very few big chances.

However, after such a promising showing in their first two matches, we think that El Tricolor will do the clean sweep in Group A, sealing top spot and sending Narodak home at the first hurdle.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.