2026 World Cup has entered the critical group stage phase. A number of top teams return to action to secure their path towards the knockout rounds. All eyes are focused on the fixtures: Mexico against South Korea, Scotland versus Morocco, and Brazil taking on Haiti.
These three matches are the main topic covered on Itsme Podcast, hosted by Gilang Respaty and Yatna broadcasting live from ITSMe Studio, Sentul, Bogor. Football analysts Ronny Pangemanan and Erwin Fitriansyah warned that top sides must not grow complacent, even when they hold an apparent quality advantage over their opponents on paper.
The most anticipated Group A clash sees tournament hosts Mexico face South Korea. Both sides opened the tournament with victory: Mexico beat South Africa 2-0, while South Korea edged out Czech Republic 2-1. Mexico head coach Javier Aguirre has already warned his players to drop the nervous performance they showed in the first match, and stay alert for South Korea's rapid counter-attacking threat.
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Ronny Pangemanan described this fixture as set to become one of the most entertaining duels of the entire group stage.
"The home atmosphere will definitely work in Mexico's favour, but South Korea has an extremely well organised game structure. They are disciplined and execute transitional play very quickly. This is not an opponent that can be underestimated," stated Ronny.
Meanwhile attention also shifts to Group C where Morocco take on Scotland. Morocco enter this fixture with high confidence after holding Brazil to a 1-1 Draw in their opening match. Multiple international analysts have already rated Morocco as one of the strongest African sides in this tournament, and are widely tipped to advance deep into the competition.
While Scotland did secure a narrow 1-0 win over Haiti, their overall performance was deemed far from convincing. Most observers agree that Steve Clarke's side will need to drastically raise their standard of play if they intend to compete with either Morocco or Brazil in Group C.
"Morocco are no longer the surprise underdogs they were four years ago. They have developed into a established, mature side with a clear defined playing identity. Scotland will need to perform far better than they did in their first match," said Erwin Fitriansyah.
In the other scheduled fixture, Brazil face Haiti with mounting pressure on their shoulders. The dropped points against Morocco have left Carlo Ancelotti's squad with almost no remaining margin for error. International media have also highlighted the Selecao's still disjointed and unconvincing play following their underwhelming opening match performance.
Despite being clear underdogs, the Caribbean side Haiti showed strong fighting spirit when they only narrowly lost by one goal to Scotland. Head coach Sebastien Migne also confirmed his players remain confident heading into their remaining fixtures against the two group giants, including Brazil.
Erwin noted that all the pressure for this match falls entirely on Brazil.
"If Brazil fail to take all three points here, they will face a very complicated situation ahead of their final group match against Scotland. That is why they need to step up and show the reaction expected of a major footballing nation," he stated.
Ahead of this round of fixtures, one thing has become abundantly clear. The 2026 World Cup has already proven that pre-tournament favourite status never guarantees victory.
Mexico, Morocco, and especially Brazil may carry the bookmakers favour, but South Korea, Scotland and Haiti have already demonstrated they have the capability to pull off major upsets on the biggest stage of World Football.
