The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins here — and it begins exactly as it should: at the Estadio Azteca, the only stadium in history to host two World Cup finals, in front of a crowd that will be so loud the South African players will briefly forget what country they're in. Mexico, one of the three host nations, has waited four years for this moment and carries the full weight of a nation's expectation on their green shirts. South Africa — Bafana Bafana — arrives as Africa's representative in a genuinely historic opening day, just over two decades removed from the nation that hosted and fell in love with the World Cup in 2010.
Javier Aguirre's Mexico side is built around Edson Álvarez, the captain and midfield general who has been monitored for fitness but is expected to start — and whose composed authority in the middle of the park will be the key to how fluent Mexico are going forward. Hugo Broos's South Africa, meanwhile, are compact, disciplined, and possess two genuinely dangerous weapons in Lyle Foster (Burnley) and midfielder Teboho Mokoena, a free-kick specialist with the kind of long-range threat that can silence even an Azteca crowd in an instant.
A team that lives and dies by the Azteca atmosphere. Álvarez provides the midfield spine; Aguirre has built a structured side that's more difficult to beat than recent Mexico squads. The famous quinto partido curse — never reaching the World Cup quarter-finals — is the elephant in every Mexican dressing room. Tonight, they at least want to start by not overthinking it.
Broos has selected a squad that's 19 players deep in domestic football — unfashionable, but committed and tactically united. Goalkeeper Ronwen Williams (62 caps) is the heartbeat. Lyle Foster's 10 international goals give them a focal point. Mokoena's set-piece quality is a genuine match-turning weapon. They will not be embarrassed — and that, against Mexico in Mexico City, is already an achievement.
A home win, professionally done. Mexico don't need to be spectacular tonight — they need to be competent, clinical, and not bottle it in front of 87,000 delirious people singing their name. South Africa battle heroically, Ronwen Williams makes at least two saves that will be highlights on their side of the story, and the Azteca goes home satisfied. The 2-0 flatters nobody and disappoints nobody. The tournament is open.
The Azteca Will Be So Loud That At Least One South African Player Will Briefly Forget the Offside Rule. Eighty-seven thousand Mexicans in the stadium that gave the world the Hand of God and the Goal of the Century. Bafana Bafana's goalkeeper will have to shout team instructions using hand signals for the entirety of the first half. The Galáctico has never been more certain that this is the finest opening match venue in World Cup history.
Mexico Will Score, Celebrate For Precisely Too Long, and Then Spend Ten Minutes Worrying About the Score. It is the Mexican football condition. They will be winning and still playing as though they are losing. Javier Aguirre will make a substitution that nobody understands. The crowd will roar anyway. The couch has seen this film many times. The ending is usually a round of 16 exit on penalties. But not today. Tonight, the script says Group Stage, Match One, and Mexico are writing it.
Teboho Mokoena Will Hit the Post With a Free-Kick That Would Have Been the Greatest Opening Goal in World Cup History. It will bounce out. The Azteca will exhale. Mokoena will look at the sky. The Galáctico will feel personally responsible for jinxing it by predicting it. 2–0 stands. The couch has spoken. No refunds.