Goran Paladin shares his picks and plays ahead of the opening two games of the World Cup.
Finally, we can stop raving about Tim Payne’s social media following and start watching football! History repeats in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as 16 years ago it was South Africa hosting Mexico, in the African continent’s first-ever home World Cup.
On that occasion, a huge crowd of close to 85,000 creating a wall of sound with those darn vuvuzelas watched Bafana Bafana finish on level terms with El Tri 1-1. There can be no doubt that the sense of occasion that afternoon and the groundswell of support behind the nation had South Africa playing out of their skins to secure an unlikely point.
In the present day, roles are reversed somewhat; we see Mexico hosting their third world cup, playing at the Azteca on opening day in front of 80,000 rabid supporters. That part is eerily similar, but it’s all in favour of the Mexicans – a boost South Africa can ill afford with the Tricolours ranked 14th in the world and Bafana Bafana some 46 places behind them. On paper it looks like an open and shut case, and it will be.
Expect Mexico to win and for Raul Jimenez to get amongst the goals if he starts. He netted 9 times for mid-table Fulham in 36 Premier League matches, and sits inside the top three of Mexico’s all-time goalscorer’s list. He may be in the twilight of his career, but he can still create a highlight – and watch 80k and then some go crazy when he does.
Tips
Best Bet: Mexico 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 @ $2.10
Best Goalscorer: Raul Jimenez ATS $2.38
Same Game Multi: Gilberto Mora Anytime Assist + Raul Jimenez Anytime Scorer = $6.91
We’re about to find out if South Korea’s ‘jersey number trick’ is going to fool their first opponent, Czechia. You see, in their final warm-up games for the 2026 FIFA World Cup the players wore unfamiliar numbers – the intention was to make the job of opposition team analysts exponentially more difficult. But if you know what Son Heung-Min looks like (after a decade with Spurs, you probably do) whether he’s wearing 13 or 7 on the back of his shirt is irrelevant!
To the giants of Czechia, they’ll be up so high they probably can’t identify jersey numbers anyway; Patrik Schick is 6 foot 3 in the old money, Tomas Soucek an inch taller, while Tomas Chory stands 6 feet, 6 inches tall. I say this to tell you that the most obvious route to goal for Czechia is through set piece situations – corners and free kicks around the edge of the penalty area – or getting the ball out wide to their wingers for the tall timber to take advantage of accurate crosses. Think: Auckland FC’s Francis De Vries to Sam Cosgrove, but on a global scale.
Expect to see Czechia defending for large periods though, living off of scraps in the attacking end. Can they take advantage of the limited offerings? I believe so, with Patrik Schick getting on the scoresheet, but South Korea should have too much possession, too much quality, and run out 2-1 winners.
Tips
Best Bet: South Korea to WIN @$2.65
Best Goalscorer: Son Heung-Min ATS @ $3.00
Same Game Multi: South Korea to WIN + Patrik Schick ATS @ $14.37
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