Czechia vs. South Africa Prediction, Picks, Lineups for World Cup 2026

Czechia and South Africa open round two of group-stage play with a Group A battle between the two Matchday 1 losers. Czechia vs. South Africa is the first of a four-game slate for World Cup 2026, kicking off at noon ET on Thursday in Atlanta.

Heading into the World Cup match, Czechia is a considerable favorite and returns a 1.78x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks with an outright victory.

Below, we’ll break down our Czechia vs. South Africa prediction and picks for Thursday afternoon’s World Cup 2026 match, including the spread, total goals, and key player picks for PrizePicks.

‍Make your Czechia vs. South Africa prediction and World Cup picks on PrizePicks now!

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Czechia vs. South Africa World Cup 2026 Prediction, Spread, Over/Under – Thursday, June 18

How to watch Czechia vs. South Africa: FS1 & Fox One (English) | Telemundo & Peacock (Spanish)

Kickoff Time: 12:00 p.m. ET

Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

Group: Group A

Both teams will be eager to pick up points on Thursday afternoon after dropping their first game a week ago. Czechia suffered a tough loss to South Korea despite holding a 1-0 lead relatively deep into the second half.

Meanwhile, South Africa fell 2-0 to Mexico and will now be without two key players who picked up straight red cards in the World Cup opener.

Czechia vs. South Africa: Favorite to Win, Spread, Total Goals – Thursday, June 18

Czechia enters Thursday’s game as the favorites, returning a 1.78x payout if they win outright, via PrizePicks Team Picks. South Africa will look for a much stronger offensive showing after amassing just 3 total shots against Mexico.

They will hope to replicate South Korea’s success, which saw the Asian side create 4 big chances in their opener against Czechia.

Here are the full payouts for the Czechia vs. South Africa match on PrizePicks.

• Winner Payout: Czechia – 1.78x | Tie – 3.33x | South Africa – 4x
• Spread: Czechia -1.5 (3.22x Payout) 
• Total Goals: 2.5 (Over – 2.08x)
• Both Teams to Score: Yes 1.81x | No 1.92x

Payouts show potential returns on correct Team Picks predictions. A 2x payout returns $200 on a $100 entry. Lower multipliers reflect outcomes users are picking as more likely. Payouts are live as of writing and subject to change.

Make your Czechia vs. South Africa prediction on spread or goals on PrizePicks Team Picks — available in 35 states!

Czechia vs. South Africa Prediction on Total Goals for World Cup 2026 

Here are the key stats and trends for Czechia vs. South Africa before making your World Cup 2026 predictions on PrizePicks.

• Both South Africa and Czechia had under 40% possession in their World Cup openers last week. Each side averaged north of 55% possession in their most recent domestic competitions.
• South Africa is one of eight teams that failed to score in round one of the group stage. They created just 0.07 xG against Mexico — the lowest of all teams in the tournament.
• Czechia slightly overperformed on xG but created just 1 big chance with 7 total shots. Miroslav Koubek’s side was forced to defend in space and covered the most distance of any team on Matchday 1.
• Czechia’s 7 total shots were its lowest in a match since September of last year. They'll now face a South African side that conceded 10 shots to Mexico in the first half alone.
• Both sides were pedestrian in the first half, each only amassing 2 total shots in the first 45 minutes. The teams combined for just 0.35 xG in the first half of their Matchday 1 outings.

Lock in your Czechia vs. South Africa prediction for the 2026 World Cup now!

Czechia vs. South Africa Lineups for World Cup 2026 – Thursday, June 18

Here are the projected Czechia vs. South Africa lineups for today's World Cup match. Lineups are not official and are based on historical data.

Czechia Lineup vs. South Africa Today

Projected Formation: 3-4-2-1

• Goalkeeper: Matěj Kovář
• Defense: Tomáš Holeš, Robin Hranáč, Ladislav Krejčí
• Midfield: Vladimír Coufal, Tomáš Souček, Alexandr Sojka, Jaroslav Zelený
• Forwards: Adam Hložek, Patrik Schick, Lukáš Provod

South Africa Lineup vs. Czechia Today

Projected Formation: 4-2-3-1

• Goalkeeper: Ronwen Williams
• Defense: Aubrey Modiba, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Ime Okon, Khuliso Mudau
• Midfield: Teboho Mokoena, Thalente Mbatha, Jayden Adams
• Forwards: Relebohile Mofokeng, Lyle Foster, Oswin Appollis

Czechia vs. South Africa Picks, Player Stats for World Cup: 6/18/2026

Here are the top Czechia vs. South Africa player picks to target on Thursday, June 18. Today’s World Cup 2026 picks are headlined by Patrik Schick, Tomáš Souček, and Oswin Appollis.

Czechia FW Patrik Schick Pick vs. South Africa 

Patrik Schick Projections via PrizePicks: 2.5 Shots, 0.5 Goals (Demon), 0.5 Shots on Target (Goblin)

• Czechia will make a concerted effort to get Schick the ball after failing to service the lethal striker in the opening match. Schick had just 11 touches in total, with 0 shots and just 5 passes attempted.
• Schick will look to add to his 26 career goals for his country on Thursday afternoon. The 30-year-old attacker had scored 6 in his last five games before the World Cup.
• Many fans were expecting the Schick we saw in the qualifiers that led Czechia with 5 goals in eight games. The Bayer Leverkusen star averaged over 1.5 shots on target during that campaign and will look to get the ball rolling in the World Cup after failing to do so in the opener.

Combine Czechia + Patrik Schick World Cup picks for bigger payouts on PrizePicks.

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Czechia MF Tomáš Souček vs. South Africa 

Tomáš Souček Projections via PrizePicks: 0.5 Shots (Goblin), 0.5 Goals + Assists (Demon), 0.5 Fouls Drawn (Goblin)

• Like Schick, Soucek had an opening match to forget last Thursday. The veteran midfielder managed just 1 total shot in a full 90 minutes played. Perhaps this could ramp up against a South Africa side that conceded far more shots than South Korea in the opening match.
• Soucek had scored in two of his last three matches prior to the opener. The Premier League star has 18 G/A for Czechia in his career, but could surely be a candidate to add to that in the second round.
• Before last Thursday’s opener, Soucek had been fouled at least once in three straight matches leading up to the tournament. Expect the midfielder to draw a foul from the team that had 11 in their first match.

Combine Czechia + Tomáš Souček World Cup picks for bigger payouts on PrizePicks.

South Africa MF Oswin Appollis vs. Czechia 

Oswin Appollis Projections via PrizePicks: 1.5 Shots (Demon), 28.5 Passes Attempted, 0.5 Goals + Assists

• Despite a strong showing leading up to the tournament, Appollis started the World Cup opener on the bench for Hugo Broos. The 24-year-old played just 13 minutes and had 8 touches in that timeframe.
• Appollis had 29+ passes in five straight matches for both club and country. The Orlando Pirates star has served as a primary playmaker and scorer for South Africa despite his young age.
• Before being dropped to the bench, Appollis had scored in two of his last five matches and registered 2 or more shots in four of those games. He led South Africa with 6 G/A during the CAF qualifiers.

Combine South Africa + Oswin Appollis World Cup picks for bigger payouts on PrizePicks.

Make Your Czechia vs. South Africa Prediction for World Cup on PrizePicks

Both teams will look to bounce back in a major way following disappointing World Cup 2026 openers last week. Perhaps there's a more open game from both sides, with Czechia potentially creating and converting more chances by the final whistle.

Don’t wait until lock. Make your Czechia vs. South Africa picks on PrizePicks now and earn real money if you’re right on every World Cup game.

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