South Africa's track record on United States soil provides little encouragement as Czechs loom

Both teams will be eager for a victory after each lost their opening matches to Mexico and South Korea respectively, having endured a lengthy wait to compete in the global finals.

South Africa are appearing at the World Cup for the first time since 2010, while the Czech Republic have not featured since 2006.

Bafana's record on United States soil stands at eight matches played, one win, three draws and four defeats, not a particularly encouraging statistic, especially given some heavy losses along the way.

Their first match was a humbling experience when they faced Mexico in a friendly in Los Angeles in 1993 and lost 4-0. That game marked the first time they had played a team from outside the African continent, as they struggled to attain the necessary standard for international football.

Another seven years passed before they returned, this time invited to the US Cup, but matters did not improve significantly.

Under coach Trott Moloto, the side lost 4-0 to the United States in Washington and then 4-2 to Mexico in Dallas, with Benni McCarthy and Thabo Mngomeni among the goalscorers.

They finished off a poor tournament with a 2-1 loss to the Republic of Ireland in New York, Shaun Bartlett getting their goal.

The team returned to United States soil for the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where they proved far more competitive.

They beat Mexico 2-1 in their opening match in Carson, with the unexpected combination of Phil Evans and Elrio van Heerden finding the net.

They then drew 3-3 with Jamaica in Los Angeles, a match in which they took the lead three times but were unable to hold on for victory.

Abram Raselemane, Lungisani Ndlela and Siyabonga Nomvethe scored the goals.

Their final group match ended in a 1-1 draw with Guatemala in Houston, with Siyabonga Nkosi scoring the equaliser to secure their place in the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals they met Panama, also in Houston, and drew 1-1, but were eliminated 5-3 on penalties. Ndlela scored during the match, but Ricardo Katza missed his spot kick.

Thus Bafana have conceded 20 goals in eight matches on United States soil, five of which came after the 80th minute. They scored 10 goals themselves.