Mexico vs South Africa: World Cup 2026 opening game – teams, start, lineups
Key takeaways
- The highly-anticipated 2026 World Cup kicks off at the iconic Estadio Azteca on Thursday, as cohosts Mexico face South Africa in a replay of the 2010 edition’s opener.
- At the 2010 FIFA World Cup – the first on African soil – hosts South Africa faced Mexico in the tournament’s opening match, playing out a 1-1 draw.
- On Thursday, the teams meet again at the same stage.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
The highly-anticipated 2026 World Cup kicks off at the iconic Estadio Azteca on Thursday, as cohosts Mexico face South Africa in a replay of the 2010 edition’s opener.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Mexico - one of the three cohosts - open the 2026 World Cup with a match against South Africa [File: Henry Romero/Reuters]By Manasi Pathak Published On 10 Jun 202610 Jun 2026Who: Mexico vs South Africa What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group. A match Where: Estadio Azteca, Mexico City When: Thursday, 1pm local time (19:00 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
At the 2010 FIFA World Cup – the first on African soil – hosts South Africa faced Mexico in the tournament’s opening match, playing out a 1-1 draw.