Mexico kick off the 2026 World Cup against South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City tonight, the first match of a 104-game tournament across 48 teams and three host nations. Kickoff is 1pm local. The Azteca becomes the only ground in history to stage a World Cup opening match at three separate tournaments, after Mexico against the USSR in 1970 and Italy against Bulgaria in 1986. 1
Mexico have never won a World Cup opener. Seven attempts have brought five defeats and two draws, 0W-5L-2D, one of those draws at this same stadium in 1970. Head coach Javier Aguirre lines up a 4-3-3 with Raul Jimenez leading the line and Edson Alvarez holding midfield. Aguirre said publicly he is wary of the visitors, an unusual admission from a host coach in front of a sold-out crowd of roughly 87,000 at altitude. 2
Hugo Broos, who has confirmed this is his final tournament before retirement, returns Bafana Bafana to the World Cup after a 16-year absence dating to their own 2010 finals. South Africa are no warm-up opponent for the hosts. He told his players to silence the Mexican crowd, and his counter-attacking pace through Appollis and Mofokeng is real, even after limp draws against Nicaragua and Jamaica in the warm-up. The Azteca held no formal FIFA clearance less than a week ago, after concrete fell from beneath its seats ; it hosts the opener regardless.
The ground carries commercial and neutral names, Estadio Banorte and the FIFA-mandated Mexico City Stadium, but it is the Azteca, the only stadium to have staged two World Cup finals, including Maradona's in 1986. The expanded 48-team bracket also lowers the stakes of a single result, with 32 of the field reaching the knockouts, so one poor opener no longer ends a campaign.
