South Africa will open the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Mexico in Mexico City on Thursday, June 11, a reverse of the 2010 tournament opener staged 16 years earlier when Siphiwe Tshabalala’s long-range strike captured global attention. The match is scheduled for 9 p.m. CAT (1 p.m. local time in Mexico City, 7 p.m. GMT, 8 p.m. BST) at the Estadio Azteca (Estadio Banorte).
Hugo Broos’ South Africa arrive as underdogs after disrupted preparations and mixed warm-up results. Bafana Bafana drew 0-0 with Nicaragua in Johannesburg on May 29 and were held 1-1 by Jamaica in Pachuca; Lyle Foster scored for South Africa while Dwayne Atkinson equalised for Jamaica. Broos said, as per SAFA, “The performance was not what I expected. I think we have to analyse the game very well and see what was really wrong and try to make it better in the next few days so that we are ready for the first game against Mexico… I think it was also a matter of mentality. We have to do more, much more, than what we did this afternoon to have good results in the World Cup in the next few weeks.”
Mexico come into the opener off a run of eight successive unbeaten friendlies in 2026, including wins over Ghana (2-0), Australia (1-0) and Serbia (5-1). Mexico have six wins and two draws from eight friendlies in 2026. Javier Aguirre, who coached Mexico in the 1-1 2010 opener and is in his third stint as head coach, will be without goalkeeper Luis Ángel Malagón and midfielder Marcel Ruiz, both omitted from the World Cup squad through injury.
Team notes list Aubrey Modiba’s fitness at left-back as a concern for South Africa, while wingers Thapelo Morena and Mohau Nkota missed the squad through injury. Expected lineups published ahead of the match show Mexico starting Raúl Rangel; Jorge Sánchez, César Montes, Johan Vásquez and Jesús Gallardo across the back; Álvaro Fidalgo, Érik Lira and Brian Gutiérrez in midfield; Roberto Alvarado, Raúl Jiménez and Julián Quiñones in attack. South Africa’s expected XI lists Ronwen Williams in goal; Aubrey Modiba, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Ime Okon and Khuliso Mudau in defence; Jayden Adams and Teboho Mokoena in midfield; Oswin Appollis, Relebohile Mofokeng and Tshepang Moremi in wide roles; and Lyle Foster up front.
Guillermo Ochoa is the only player from either side to make both the 2010 and 2026 World Cup squads. The second Group A match, between South Korea and Czechia, is scheduled roughly seven hours after the opener. Under the expanded 48-team format, the top two teams in each group automatically advance to the round of 32, along with the eight best third-placed teams. Broadcasters listed for the opener include SuperSport on DSTV channels 201, 202, 203 and 235; SABC 1 and SABC 3; SportyTV’s app; ITV in the U.K. for this game with the BBC taking others later; and FOX for U.S. English-language coverage.
