World Cup 2026 opens with Mexico facing South Africa at the historic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The stadium, which has hosted two previous World Cups, stages a reverse of the 2010 tournament opener when South Africa hosted Mexico; Siphiwe Tshabalala scored a memorable opening goal in that match before Rafael Marquez equalised in a 1-1 draw on a late kickoff on June 11, 16 years ago.
The match kicks off Thursday, June 11 at 8:00 p.m. BST (3:00 p.m. EDT; 12:30 a.m. IST and 5:00 a.m. AEST on Friday). Wilton Sampaio (Brazil) will referee with VAR handled by Nicolas Gallo (Colombia). Broadcast outlets include ITV1 in the U.K., Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia, and fans can follow ESPN’s live updates.
Mexico enter as one of three automatic hosts and carry momentum from domestic and regional success. Their competitive action last year was limited to the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cups, which they won, and El Tri have been unbeaten in eight internationals (W6, D2) since November 2025, including a 0-0 with Portugal, a 1-1 with Belgium and a 5-1 win over Serbia. Javier Aguirre, 66, is in his third stint as Mexico manager and looks to improve on round-of-16 exits in 2002 and 2010.
Team news for Mexico notes that César Montes, Edson Álvarez, Luis Chávez and Alexis Vega had struggled with injuries in the lead-up but all played significant minutes in the June 5 friendly against Serbia. A potential cameo for 17-year-old Gilberto Mora would make him the youngest player at the tournament and the youngest CONCAF player to appear at a World Cup, surpassing Manuel Rosas (18) at Uruguay 1930; if he appears he would be the sixth-youngest ever after Pelé, Salomon Olembe, Femi Opabunmi, Samuel Eto’o and Norman Whiteside. Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is 40, among the competition’s older players.
South Africa, managed by Hugo Broos, arrive as underdogs. Aubrey Modiba, previously an injury concern, is back in full training and Broos said he “should be available”. South Africa topped a qualifying group that included Nigeria but were docked three points for fielding the ineligible Teboho Mokoena in a 2-0 win over Lesotho, briefly dropping to second before recovering to finish ahead of Nigeria and Benin by a point. Broos has his side playing expansive, possession-based football as they return to the World Cup for the first time since 2010.
