World Cup 2026 Day One - Mexico vs South Africa and the group stage opens

[Harry64]

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is here. Mexico vs South Africa kicks off at 7pm BST Thursday June 11 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in front of over 80,000 fans. It is the first match of a 48-team tournament spanning 39 days, 104 matches and three countries. The host nation pressure on Mexico will be immense.

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, Uzbekistan and Ghana. Mexico should qualify but the expanded format means third place can still advance, reducing the pressure on any individual result.

England open in Group E against Slovakia on June 17, with the Germany match to follow. Croatia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil and France are all expected to be genuine contenders to reach the latter stages.

I'm really looking forward to this month

[WaveFunction30]

The Azteca for an opening World Cup match with Mexico as the host is one of the great sporting atmospheres on the planet. That ground has history that goes back decades and it will be absolutely rocking on Thursday

[Aura]

South Africa reaching their second-ever World Cup as a major surprise qualifier and opening against the host nation in their stadium is the kind of narrative the tournament always serves up early

[PlanetOftheApes]

48 teams does water down the group stage but it also means more games and more nations involved. Having Uzbekistan at a World Cup for the first time is the kind of expansion story worth celebrating

[RedKnight]

England vs Slovakia on June 17 in Atlanta should be comfortable but Euro 2024 reminded everyone that assuming easy wins in tournament football is how you end up having a heart attack in extra time

[Sinead_47]

The Argentina vs defending narrative given they lost at the PSG Champions League final is going to be a thread all tournament. Scaloni has the squad depth to go deep without leaning entirely on any one player

[EdgeRatedR86]

Brazil vs Morocco on June 13 is the match I am most looking forward to in the group stage. Two strong teams, genuinely attacking football, and a result that will shape Group C completely

[BigDog]

Its going to be sweltering so probably not free flowing football that we would like to see