Attention all passengers. The Uber ride for Jeff's rugby team will depart in five minutes from Platform 15.

Your ride comes with six toilets and a refreshments carriage that you'll empty within five minutes.

Thank you for booking your tickets on Uber. Trains on Uber.

I'll now hand you over to my best man, Eddie.

Wow, wow, wow. Second time's a charm, eh, Billy Boy!

Oh God.

Substitution courtesy of Paddy Power embarrassing Eddie makes way for Sensible Samuel.

Cool, well that was close.

You might not always pick the right starter, but your sub can still deliver, because with Paddy's Super Sub, your bet rolls over to the player coming on. Paddy Power. Valid on selected leagues and markets only. Pre-match and in-play bets on qualifying player outcome selections only. D's and Clusions apply. 18 plus, scumannware. Dot-Owl. Hello, Sunshine. I I'm Alexi Lalas and welcome to the State of the Union show,

presented by Zillow. Someday starts today. This is where we look at the beautiful game on and off the field through the lens of red, white, and blue-colored glasses. Now, this episode, we are kicking off into our World Cup group previews by diving into Group A. But first, joining me as always my friend, my colleague, my guiding light, David Mossie,

a soccer savant and a Fox Soccer Research and Writer Extraordinaire. All right, my friend, you're ready to like this candle? Let's kick it off here with Group A. Group A is headlined by co-host Mexico, who are managed once again by Javier Aguirre, who I've called the Bruce Arena of Mexican Soccer.

He led them into the round of 16 in 2002 and 2010.

We'll see how far he can take him this time around.

Their opening match is against South Africa, which was the same opening match in 2010.

South Africa back in the World Cup for the first time since they hosted that tournament.

You've also got South Korea in this group.

They've been in every World Cup since 1986, finished fourth on home soil in 2002, and they were managed by our former colleague Goose Hiddink. And then rounding out this group is a solid European side Czechia. They're back at the World Cup for the first time in 20 years, 2006, in their opening match,

they demolished the U.S. 3-0, Thomas Rositsky, Jan Kohler and Company.

So let's start with Mexico.

What do you see from them?

Well, look, you know, our friends to the South, they get to host a World Cup yet again. I think that it is a double-edged sword here in that they get to host.

They get to play in Mexico.

...