Mexico held South Africa to a 1-1 draw when they met in the opening game of the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg.
The wait is over. Today at the Estadio Azteca, co-hosts Mexico will meet South Africa in the opening game of the 2026 World Cup, which the Mexicans are co-hosting with the United States and Canada.
Today’s game is a repeat of the 2010 opener in Johannesburg when the Bafana Bafana hosted the event.
That game in 2010 ended 1-1, with South Africa opening the scoring with a fantastic strike by Siphiwe Shabalala before Mexico drew level in the second half.
With 80,000 fans expected to pack the prestigious Estadio Azteca, the opener promises to be an incredible spectacle.
Today’s match in Mexico City will mark the start of a 39-day tournament, featuring 104 games – 40 more than in the last edition in Qatar 2022.
With an expanded participation pool of 48 teams, the 2026 World Cup is the biggest in the sport’s history, and the first to be held in three countries: the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The opening game would be preceded by the opening ceremony, headlined by four-time Grammy-winning superstar Shakira, with Colombian singer J Balvin and South African singer-songwriter Tyla also among the performers.
Already, the stadium and its environs are in festive colours with organisers putting finishing touches to what is expected to be a spectacular event.
While hosting the opening match of the tournament is huge in itself, to make things more special, the gigantic Estadio Azteca is set to make history as the first stadium to host three FIFA World Cup opening matches (1960, 1986 and 2026).
Already, pundits have picked Mexico as clear favourites for the opening day win due to the home advantage and a higher FIFA ranking. But with more than 80,000 attendees expected, the co-hosts find themselves under pressure to deliver the winning start their fans expect.
Mexico are unbeaten in their last eight matches, equalling the longest unbeaten run they have taken into a World Cup and providing further encouragement for Javier Aguirre’s side before the tournament.
At number 60 in the FIFA rankings, South Africa are far below 14th-ranked Mexico. But Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos believes his side is more than capable of pulling off an upset.
Unlike Mexico, who are near-regulars at the World Cup, South Africa are back on the global stage after a 16-year absence in what will be just their fourth appearance.
Looking ahead to a ‘great game,’ Broos told reporters yesterday: “For us, it will be a fantastic experience.
“It is very important that we keep ourselves to the game plan and don’t listen to what is happening in the stands.”
South Africa’s preparations were disrupted by visa issues that delayed the arrival of several members of the travelling party, costing them valuable time to acclimatise to conditions in central Mexico.
Yet Broos’s side emerged from a difficult qualifying campaign, which included Nigeria, and will hope to frustrate the hosts once again.
The top two teams from each of the 12 groups – along with the eight best third-placed teams – proceed to the next phase, the round of 32, which has been introduced at the World Cup for the first time.