Mexico face South Africa in the opening game of the 2026 men’s World Cup on Thursday, as a party atmosphere will descend on the famous Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
WATCH — Mexico v South Africa
Javier Aguirre’s Mexico have looked really good in warm-up friendlies but the pressure is on to get off to a flying start on home soil, and everyone is expecting them to win big. It hasn’t been a great few years for El Tri but everything has been building up to this.
South Africa are at their first World Cup since 2010 (when they were hosts), and there’s no doubt they are the underdogs in Group A. But Bafana Bafana proved during qualifying that they are well-organized and will be dangerous on the counter attack.
How to watch Mexico vs South Africa live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Thursday (June 11)
Venue: Estadio Azteca — Mexico City, Mexico
TV Channel: Telemundo
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock, en Espanol
Mexico team news, focus
Aguirre’s side have been looking sharp in the last few friendlies and Raul Jimenez will lead the line up top. Midfielder Edson Alvarez is obviously key to holding things together in terms of defensive structure, and there are a couple of bright young talents in Brian Gutierrez and Gilberto Mora to keep a close eye on. The likes of Alexis Vega, Julian Quinones and Orbelin Pineda will be tasked with creating chances for Jimenez to finish with Santiago Gimenez also set for plenty of minutes.
South Africa team news, focus
The standout player for South Africa is winger Oswin Appollis from the Orlando Pirates. He is full of tricks and loves to cut inside and cause havoc and has scored nine goals in his last 16 games for South Africa. Burnley’s Lyle Foster is also a key player up top. 19 of South Africa’s 26-man squad play in their domestic league (15 of them from either Orlando Pirates or Mamelodi Sundowns) and they are a really tight knit group.
Mexico vs South Africa prediction
Opening games of the tournament are generally tight but Mexico should get the job done. Mexico 2-1 South Africa.
