The biggest event in sports is here with two matches kicking things off on opening day. Co-host Mexico gets the 2026 World Cup started in the afternoon against South Africa before South Korea and the Czech Republic offer an intriguing match at night.Let’s take a look at both matches, what the sportsbooks say about them and then make some picks.Mexico vs. South Africa (Group A)Time: 3 p.m. ETTV: Fox (English), Telemundo (Spanish)Venue: Estadio Azteca, Mexico CityThe most iconic venue for the sport in North America is a deserving host for the World Cup opening match. Estadio Azteca (which has technically been branded Estadio Banorte and is officially being referred to as Mexico City Stadium due to FIFA’s rules around stadium sponsorships) is the first stadium to host matches at three different World Cups. It has also hosted two finals (1970 and 1986) and the famous “Hand of God” goal by Diego Maradona.Mexico plays most of its home World Cup qualifiers at Estadio Azteca and hasn’t lost a match there since 2013, a 2-1 loss to Honduras that took place during qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Mexico has played 23 matches at the Azteca since, with 16 wins and seven draws. That’s the task that South Africa faces on Thursday.As a host that didn’t have to go through qualifying, Mexico hasn’t played a competitive match since July 6 of last year, when El Tri beat the United States 2-1 in the Gold Cup final. In eight friendlies in 2026, Mexico has six wins (against Panama, Bolivia, Iceland, Ghana, Australia and Serbia) and a pair of draws against Portugal and Belgium. El Tri has allowed just two goals this year.It’s not the most creative thing to say a host country is a potential dark-horse contender, but Mexico has been playing well and is heavily favored in this match.This is South Africa’s first World Cup match since hosting in 2010. Bafana Bafana have never made it past the group stage. Nineteen of the 26 players on the squad play in the South African Premiership, including eight from newly crowned champions Orlando Pirates.South Korea vs. Czech Republic (Group A)Time: 10 p.m. ETTV: FS1 (English), Telemundo (Spanish)Venue: Estadio Akron, GuadalajaraThis is the only match of the first three days without a minus-odds favorite. It doesn’t have big-name national teams or tournament favorites, but this is one of the more balanced matches of the group stage. South Korea is viewed as slightly more likely to win, but it’s by the thinnest of margins.There are also individual stars worth watching. Tottenham legend and current Los Angeles FC star Son Heung-min captains South Korea, but is far from the only noteworthy player on the team. Lee Kang-in just won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain and Kim Min-jae plays for German powerhouse Bayern Munich.The Czech Republic counters with Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick and West Ham midfielder Tomáš Souček.Czechoslovakia reached the World Cup finals in 1934 and 1962, but the Czech Republic hasn’t advanced past the group stage. This is the country’s first World Cup since 2006, when the Czechs beat the United States 3-0 in group play.Best betsWe’re having some fun with World Cup picks throughout the tournament. Four of us from the sports betting team at The Athletic will be making picks each day of the tournament. We’ll keep track of our running totals as if we bet $1 on each pick.Mike Hume: Mexico to win 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, +115 (FanDuel)I was looking to find a clean-sheet bet for Mexico’s sensational Guillermo Ochoa, the El Tri goalkeeper who serves as an inspiration for those of us on the downslope of age 40.I’ll have to settle for this slight modification, though I believe these are the three most likely outcomes I’d expect from the match. Sometimes big games on home turf can have a chilling effect (just ask the Knicks), but I don’t see South Africa breaking through against Mexico. I could see it limiting the scoring, however.Dan Santaromita: Mexico-South Africa under 2.5 goals, -140 (BetMGM)I think Mexico has the best chance of making a deep run of the three host countries, but high-scoring games don’t come to mind with El Tri. Mexico will surely dominate play, but they tend to struggle to score against opponents who sit deep as I suspect South Africa will do. At last year’s Gold Cup, four of Mexico’s six matches had fewer than three goals (2-0 wins against Suriname and Saudi Arabia, a 1-0 win against Honduras and a 0-0 draw with Costa Rica). That’s not exactly a murderer’s row of opponents either.Vik Chokshi: Mexico to win and Mexico-South Africa under 3.5 goals parlay, -140 (DraftKings)I’m riding with Dan and Mike here. I don’t see how Mexico doesn’t handle business in the opener. I actually think Mexico will try to run it up in this matchup, with South Africa being the easiest opponent (on paper) they will face in the group. I’m a little worried El Tri might get 3, which is why I bought a little insurance.Dean Jones: Mexico-South Africa 1-1 draw, +800 (FanDuel)At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, we saw these two teams face off in the opening game, and it ended 1-1.