THE teams that will face Bafana Bafana in Group A at the World Cup are COMPLETE as Czechia was the last team to book a place in this group.
Czechia entered the tournament by defeating Denmark 3-1 on penalties on Tuesday night, after the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
This country had beaten Ireland 4-3 on penalties in the semi-finals on Thursday, which also ended in a 2-2 draw.
It reached the final qualifying round by finishing second in the group stage, behind Croatia.
It will be the first time that Czechia returns to the World Cup since the last competition held in Germany in 2006, where they were eliminated in the group stage.
In Group A, they will face Bafana Bafana, Korea Republic and one of the host countries, Mexico.
“Tears filled my eyes when the players hugged me at the end of the game. This means a lot to our country and to me personally,” said the Czech coach, Miroslav Koubek, as quoted by the UEFA website.
Koubek was given the reins of coaching the Czech Republic in December last year after Ivan Hašek was sacked in October due to unsatisfactory results.
Meanwhile, midfielder Michal Sadílek, who scored the last penalty that put Czechia in the World Cup, said that their entry into the tournament
“We had a difficult journey but it ended happily. We entered the World Cup after 20 years. My voice is burnt but I hope it will come back because I will need it in the upcoming celebrations,” said Sadílek.
As the countries that Bafana Bafana will open with in the World Cup are complete, coach Hugo Broos and his team will be able to take their plans for this tournament to the next level.
Bafana will open against Mexico in Mexico City on June 11, play the second match of Group A against Czechia in Atlanta on June 18, and wrap up the group stage with Korea Republic in Guadalupe on June 25.
