From The Sports Desk: The World Cup is finally here

Forty-eight teams. Three host countries. Sixteen stadiums. And 39 days long. The 23rd edition of the men’s World Cup is finally here, with the opening ceremony taking place at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium today ahead of co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa. When Shakira and Burna Boy perform the official anthem “Dai Dai” at the ceremony, FIFA will no doubt be hoping that after a bumpy run-up to the competition, the world can finally start talking soccer.

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World Cup Match Preview

Mexico — one of the three co-hosts with America and Canada — will bid to end its World Cup opening-day curse when it takes on South Africa in the tournament’s first game today at the recently renovated Azteca Stadium. It’s a repeat of the first game of the 2010 competition, in Johannesburg, which ended 1-1.

That was a relative success for a nation that has repeatedly failed to win its opening game. Coach Javier Aguirre told a news conference Wednesday: “We must break that trend.”

El Tri enters the tournament buoyed by a run of warmup victories, and hoping veteran forward Raúl Jiménez can help fire them to glory on home soil. Fans will also be pinning their hopes on midfielder Gilberto Mora , at 17 this World Cup’s youngest player and a potential breakout star.

Mexico has only made it to the last eight twice, both times when it hosted the tournament, in 1970 and 1986. Four years ago in Qatar, it didn’t make it out of the group stage.

Aguirre will be up against a familiar foe in the opposition dugout: South Africa coach Hugo Broos was in the Belgium team that lost 2-1 against an El Tri side featuring Aguirre in 1986. Broos has led South Africa to its first World Cup in 16 years.

The second fixture of the day sees the two other Group A sides, South Korea and Czechia, go head-to-head. South Korean star Son Heung-min , widely considered the best Asian player in recent times, comes into his fourth World Cup after a poor season with Los Angeles FC. South Korea should be wary of Czechia’s threat from set plays. In qualifying, the two-time runners-up (as Czechoslovakia, in 1934 and 1962) scored more set-piece goals — seven of them headers — than any other European team.

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The World Cup is finally here! Three and a half years after Lionel Messi and Argentina took home the trophy in Qatar, El Tri and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana will kick things off today at the legendary Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, followed by South Korea and Czechia.

Before the games start, we’ll be treated to an opening ceremony performance from Shakira and Burna Boy, 32 years after Diana Ross committed one of the most legendary penalty misses in World Cup history at Chicago’s Soldier Field. We can only hope that Mexico’s musical spectacle will be half as memorable.

For more World Cup coverage sent straight to your inbox every morning, subscribe to the Men in Blazers newsletter . We’ll be covering every match, every goal and every joyous moment that soccer’s biggest spectacle is sure to bring.

Additionally, Men in Blazers is going from host city to host city for Match Day Live! We’re taking the stage with celebrity guests in front of thousands of fans directly before some of the biggest matches this summer. Find your city here . Next stop: Los Angeles, where our very own Roger Bennett and Rory Smith will be joined by actor Rob Mac, Larry Nance Jr. of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavs and former USMNT player, Kyle Beckerman. Join us there tomorrow .

Player profile

Leading up to the 2026 World Cup, we’re counting down 26 players to watch. Today’s entry is Argentina’s Lionel Messi.

Messi is arguably the best player to ever step on a soccer field. He’s won the Ballon d’Or award a record eight times, claimed 10 LaLiga championships, four Champions League titles and scored 672 goals for Barcelona — the most for a single club ever. Internationally, he was instrumental in leading Argentina to the 2022 World Cup victory and paces the nation with 116 career goals scored. In that final against France, Messi scored the opening goal on a penalty kick and later added another in extra time to propel Argentina to victory.

Simply put, the only thing that could stop Messi at the 2026 World Cup is father time. At 38, he’s still a high-level player but not exactly what he was in his prime.

Argentina, ranked No. 3 in the world by FIFA, needs Messi’s elite skills to remain among the best in the world. He fits up top with Julian Alvarez and should work well with midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister . Argentina is looking to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups. Because of Messi’s playmaking ability and incredible goal-scoring prowess, he could help them do just that.

What We’re Watching

Come hang with us as we live blog today’s opening matches.