The 2026 World Cup will open with a blockbuster curtainraiser.
The tournament will be jointly hosted by three nations for the first time with the United States, Canada, and Mexico all splitting the burden.
But the honour of playing the tournament’s first match has been bestowed upon Mexico, who will face South Africa in the opening fixture of what is already being touted as one of the biggest sporting events in history.
The match is a replay of the now iconic opening game of the 2010 World Cup, which ended 1-1 after goals from Rafael Marquez and Siphiwe Tshabalala, then of Kaizer Chiefs.
That match was played at the Soccer City in Johannesburg and attended by some 84,490 fans. The 2026 edition, though, will be staged at the so-called temple of football, Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca. The home stadium of Club America can seat up to 87,523 supporters.
Kick-off is pencilled in for 8pm BST on June 11, 2026.
The Estadio Azteca has had something of a face-lift in preparation for the tournament - its third as a host venue. It is due to host five matches: three in the group stage and one each in the rounds of 32 and 16.
Nearly £60million has been invested in doing up the ground ahead of next summer.
Mexico will host Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in a pre-tournament friendly there on March 28.
Joining Mexico and South Africa in Group A are Korea Republic and one yet-to-be-determined team - either Denmark, North Macedonia, Czechia, or the Republic of Ireland will complete the pool. Their matches will be played entirely between Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara.
