The 2026 World Cup begins on 11 June at the Estadio Azteca — the first ground to stage a World Cup opener three times, after 1970 and 1986. Javier Aguirre's Mexico arrive in form (2-0 over Ghana, 1-0 over Australia on 31 May); Hugo Broos's South Africa are back for the first time since hosting in 2010.
Altitude and a wall of noise: 2,240 metres of Mexico City air and a packed Azteca are the co-hosts' twin weapons. A quarter-final drought — no last-eight finish since 2018 — hangs over Aguirre, but the form line into the tournament is genuinely encouraging after two clean-sheet warm-up wins.
South Africa are organised and compact under Broos, returning to the stage they last graced as 2010 hosts. Openers rarely produce a classic; they usually produce nerves, and the side that settles first tends to win. Mexico assembled this group in the domestic camp Aguirre opened in early May.
Eleven months of build-up, two anthems and one thin mountain of air. The waiting ends at the Azteca.
The opening slot also lands inside the heat protocols FIFA rewrote the schedule around. For fantasy managers, cheap Mexican defenders at altitude headline the Matchday 1 clean-sheet board — and you can lock your opening XI on Matchday.
Sources: FIFA · Goal · Yahoo Sports.