Gangtok, June 11 : The wait is finally over. The FIFA World Cup 2026, the biggest edition in football history, gets underway with Mexico taking on South Africa at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. For viewers in India, the opening match kicks off at 12:30 AM IST on Friday, June 12.
This year’s tournament is a landmark one. The World Cup is being co-hosted by three nations, Mexico, the United States and Canada, and features an expanded field of 48 teams, the largest in FIFA history. A total of 104 matches will be played, with the final scheduled for July 19.
The opening fixture carries a special sense of history. The match is a rematch of the 2010 World Cup opener in Johannesburg, which ended in a 1-1 draw, and it marks the first time in tournament history that an opening game is being repeated. Football fans will remember that night sixteen years ago when Siphiwe Tshabalala’s stunning strike for South Africa united an entire nation. This time, the roles are reversed, with Mexico enjoying home advantage in front of a passionate crowd.
There is history for the venue too. The Estadio Azteca will serve as the stage for a World Cup opening match for the third time, having previously hosted the openers of the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, both of which Mexico hosted.
Mexico enter the tournament in excellent form. El Tri won their last three friendlies by a combined score of 8-1 against Ghana, Australia and Serbia, and the home side will be eager to make a strong start. Mexico qualified automatically as one of the three co-host nations and will be determined to reach the knockout rounds after a group stage exit in 2022, their first since 1978. Veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, under manager Javier Aguirre, is set to feature in his sixth World Cup, a remarkable achievement in the modern game.
South Africa, on the other hand, arrive as underdogs. Bafana Bafana are returning to the World Cup for the first time since they hosted the tournament in 2010, having qualified by topping Group C in African qualifying with 18 points. Their preparations under coach Hugo Broos have not been smooth, with a goalless draw against Nicaragua and a 1-1 draw with Jamaica in their final warm-up matches. However, World Cup openers have a habit of producing surprises, and South Africa will draw inspiration from their performance in 2010.
Both teams are placed in Group A alongside South Korea and Czechia, a group widely seen as open, with no overwhelming favourite to top the table.
For Indian football fans, this World Cup promises a month of late nights and early mornings, with matches spread across sixteen venues in three countries. It all begins tonight at the Azteca, where ninety minutes of football will officially open the greatest show on earth.
