Mexico City’s storied Azteca Stadium has been the stage for some of the most iconic moments in World Cup history, from Pelé’s third title to Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal. The hallowed venue hosts the 2026 World Cup opener between Mexico and South Africa on Thursday, a throwback to the 2010 curtain-raiser in Johannesburg – and a rematch between coaches who faced off as players in the same stadium 40 years ago.
The Estadio Azteca in Mexico City becomes the first stadium to host a third World Cup opener on Thursday, further cementing its status as one of the most iconic grounds in footballing history after welcoming the 1970 and 1986 editions.
The hallowed venue, modernised for the occasion, plays host to the curtain-raiser between Mexico and South Africa, with the home nation desperate to end the curse that has seen them fail to win on each of their previous seven opening-day World Cup matches.
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“We must break that trend,” coach Javier Aguirre told reporters at the Azteca, four decades after sporting Mexico’s green jersey as a player the last time the country hosted a World Cup.
The choice of the Azteca for the curtain-raiser, a day before co-hosts Canada and the United States stage their first games, is a nod to the venue’s historical significance. This is where the great Pelé lifted his third World Cup title – a feat unmatched to this day – at the 1970 edition, regarded by many as the finest ever.
Days before Brazil’s victory in the final, the Azteca had also hosted the “Game of the Century” between Italy and West Germany, a seven-goal classic that saw an injured Franz Beckenbauer soldier on with his arm in a sling and Gigi Riva’s Azzurri prevail in overtime.
Sixteen years later, 112,000 delirious fans packed inside the Azteca witnessed the two most famous goals in football history, both scored by Maradona at the 1986 World Cup, the first with a little help from the “Hand of God”.
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“Cosmic kite, what planet are you from that you can leave so many Englishmen in your wake?” shouted Victor Hugo Morales in his famous live commentary, sobbing with joy after the Argentinian star sliced through the England defence to score his second, memorable goal.
Full circle
The Azteca has been upgraded and refurbished since those heady days, with capacity brought down to just over 80,000 seats ahead of the 2026 tournament. Still, South Africa’s coach Hugo Broos has warned his players to block out an expected wall of sound as they take on the co-hosts in Thursday’s opener.
“They will have 85,000 Mexicans shouting and singing. But we have to focus on our game,” said the Belgian coach. “And if we can do that, if we are not too influenced by the noise of 85,000 Mexicans, then we can have a good game.”
It will be a full-circle moment for Broos, who was part of the Belgium team that lost to Aguirre’s Mexico at the Azteca in 1986. He plans to retire after this tournament, wrapping up a 56-year football career.
“No one in Hollywood could have scripted it better – I played in a World Cup opener and now, four decades later, I will be one of the coaches in a World Cup opener,” he said. “It was a fantastic event and something I will never forget, 40 years ago when we played our opening game against Mexico. That was when I felt how special the World Cup is.”
For South Africa, the fixture carries its own echoes. They opened the 2010 World Cup against Mexico in Johannesburg, drawing 1-1 after Siphiwe Tshabalala scored one of the tournament’s most memorable goals to the deafening soundtrack of vuvuzelas.
The buzzing horns remain intimately associated with the first World Cup on African soil, which also gave us Shakira’s anthem “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)”. The vuvuzelas have been banned this time, but the Colombian superstar is back for the curtain-raiser at the Azteca with her latest ode to football, “Dai Dai”.
