The World Cup group stage has only just kicked off, and the script has already been rewritten by several pages. If you had to pick the biggest surprises across the groups so far, the wins by South Africa and Switzerland simply cannot be skipped. They may not be the matches with the widest margins, but they are the two most fitting footnotes to the word “underdog”—one an underrated African side, the other a European old guard that slammed the brakes on a host’s dream.
Start with Group A. South Africa beat Korea 1-0; the scoreline is not flashy, but the meaning is not small. Korea have long been seen as a benchmark side in Asia and were a favourite to advance from the group in most people’s eyes before kickoff, while South Africa were relatively underrated. A one-goal margin shows that South Africa, with discipline and efficiency, took a full three points away from a strong side. In the same group, host Mexico thrashed Czechia 3-0, which means the two favoured berths in Group A were instantly reshuffled—South Africa and Mexico seized the initiative, while Korea and Czechia were forced to strike back immediately.
An even more talked-about upset came in Group B. Switzerland beat host Canada 2-1 at BC Place in Vancouver, one of the rare cases this tournament where “home advantage failed to cash in”: Canada swallowed a defeat in front of their own fans, proving the host’s halo is no guarantee. In the same group, Bosnia and Herzegovina also edged Qatar 3-1, making the qualifying picture in Group B even more crowded.
The common takeaway is this: the group stage offers very little room for error, and a single upset is enough to push a favourite into a “life-or-death” match. Based on the current standings, both South Africa and Switzerland stand in a favourable position thanks to their opening wins, while Korea and Canada are forced to fight with their backs to the wall. Detailed data is subject to FIFA’s official figures, and the full scores can be checked on the FIFA official schedule and scores page.
What to watch next: Whether Korea and Canada can stop the bleeding in the second round and push back the waves stirred up by the underdogs will directly decide the qualifying direction of Groups A and B, and it is the first test of whether South Africa and Switzerland are genuine underdogs or just a flash in the pan.
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