2026 World Cup: Mexico vs. South Africa, probable lineups

After a long wait and endless controversy, the 2026 World Cup kicks off with the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, a rematch of the game that also kicked off the 2010 tournament, although in that case it was played on Bafana Bafana’s home turf. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. Italian time at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, a venue that has hosted epic World Cup matches such as Italy-Germany 4-3 in 1970 and Argentina-England 2-1 in 1986, as well as the respective finals of those two tournaments (Italy-Brazil 1-4 and Argentina-Germany 3-2).

Mexico has already made history in its own way: for the first time ever, in fact, the Central American country is hosting (or co-hosting) a World Cup for the third time. There is great enthusiasm surrounding the Tricolor, even though the memory of what happened in Qatar—where they were eliminated in the group stage after conceding one too many goals—still stings. Mexico’s best World Cup result came in both of its home tournaments, reaching the quarterfinals: Italy beat El Tri 4-1 in 1970, and West Germany prevailed on penalties (4-1 after a 0-0 draw at 120 minutes) in 1986.

South Africa, on the other hand, is making its fourth World Cup appearance overall, the first as a qualifier since 2002 (in 2010, it was the host nation). The Bafana Bafana have never advanced past the group stage, earning 2 points in 1998, 4 in 2002 (the number of goals scored eliminated them from the knockout stage), and the same in 2010 (again tied on points with second-place Mexico but with a worse goal difference).

Probable lineups

MEXICO (4-3-3): Rangel; J. Sanchez, Montes, J. Vasquez, Gallardo; Gutierrez, Lira, Mora; Alvarado, R. Jimenez, Quiñones. Coach: Aguirre.

SOUTH AFRICA (4-2-3-1): R. Williams; Mudau, Okon, Mbokazi, Modiba; Sithole, Mokoena; Appollis, Zwane, Moremi; Foster. Coach: Broos.