The FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off with Mexico hosting South Africa in Group A for the tournament’s opening match at the Mexico City Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico.
The game is scheduled to get underway at 00.30 a.m. Sri Lanka time.
The matchup is a rematch of the 2010 FIFA World Cup opener in South Africa, played exactly 16 years after the two sides drew 1-1 in Johannesburg. It marks the first time a World Cup opening fixture has ever been repeated among the tournament’s previous single-match openers.
Mexico will participate in its 18th FIFA World Cup and will make history as it becomes the first nation to host the men’s World Cup three times.
It will also become the first nation to host the tournament’s opening match on three occasions. The nation’s best World Cup performances also came on home soil, reaching the quarterfinals in both 1970 and 1986.
The 2026 co-hosts will also look to continue their strong record in World Cup openers, having gone unbeaten in their last seven opening matches with five wins and two draws.
Manager Javier Aguirre, who is leading Mexico for a third World Cup after stints in 2002 and 2010, has selected an experienced squad.
Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is set to appear in a historic sixth World Cup, while captain Edson Álvarez arrives after winning Best Player honors at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. Raúl Jiménez, the top scorer at the 2025 Concacaf Nations League Finals, also headlines the roster. The reigning Gold Cup champions additionally include 17-year-old Gilberto Mora, who enters his first World Cup as the tournament’s youngest player.
South Africa will make its fourth FIFA World Cup appearance and its first since hosting the tournament in 2010. The Bafana Bafana secured qualification for this World Cup by winning Group C of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) qualifiers, clinching the top spot in the group on the final matchday with a pivotal 3-nil win at home against Rwanda.
While the opening match will be played in Mexico City on 11 June, the final is scheduled to be played in the US state of New Jersey on 19 July.
The 2026 World Cup is the largest ever, with 48 countries competing.
What are the host cities in each country?
Mexico: Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City
Canada: Toronto and Vancouver
US: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle
Who are the favourites?
Two-time winners France and 2010 champions Spain are two teams hotly tipped.
France have a stellar squad of players, including Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, who have powered their individual clubs in Europe's top competitions.
Spain will be banking on youthful talent such as 18-year-old Lamine Yamal to lead them to a second major trophy in two years.
England, after back-to-back heartbreak in the finals of two European Championships, are also in with a chance.
And there is of course the traditional favourites Brazil, the most successful country in the tournament.
Brazil are seeking their sixth world title, which would be their first since 2002.
Who are some players to watch?
Mbappé and Yamal are expected to be some of the most exciting players to watch this summer. Mbappé is appearing at his third World Cup for France and has powered Les Bleus to two successive finals.
He has won one (2018) and lost one (2022).
Yamal, for Spain, represents a new generation of talent and could became one of the sport's biggest stars of the future.
Eyes will inevitably also be on Argentina's Lionel Messi and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, whose rivalry has dominated the sport over the last two decades.
Messi will turn 39 later in June and Ronaldo is 41 years old, and this is likely to be their last major tournament before retiring.
Others to look out for are Brazilian playmakers Neymar and Vinícius Júnior, England's Jude Bellingham, USA's Christian Pulisic, Canada's Alphonso Davies, South Korea's Son Heung-min, Ghana's Antoine Semenyo and his Manchester City teammate Erling Haaland of Norway, who has scored the most goals in three out of the last four English Premier League seasons.
Who is debuting in the World Cup?
The expanded format of this World Cup has allowed for more countries to participate. It has also ensured that we will see some nations that have never been on football's biggest stage before.
Curaçao, with its population of just 156,000, will make a historic debut as the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup, beating the record set in 2018 by Iceland.
Another small island making a premiere showing is Cape Verde. With a population of about 500,000 people, they are the third smallest country ever to make it the World Cup.
Jordan has had recent footballing success that have culminated in their maiden World Cup qualification. Their head coach, Jamal Sellami, who is originally from Morocco, was granted Jordanian citizenship by King Abdullah II as appreciation for leading the team to global heights.
Uzbekistan are the last of the debutantes, but they will have valuable experience in the team by way of head coach Fabio Cannavaro, who went to four World Cups as a player and led Italy as its captain to victory in the 2006 tournament.
– Agencies
