liveUpdated 5m agoFollow live from the opening day of the 2026 World Cup in Mexico City.The Athletic Live TeamJune 11, 2026 at 7:30 AM EDTThe iconic Azteca Stadium ahead of today’s game GettySign up to our World Cup Briefing The AthleticWant an update on everything going on at the 2026 World Cup dropped into your inbox every morning?Sign up here to The Athletic’s World Cup Briefing so that you don’t miss a thing.The venue for today’s opener Getty ImagesAlongside Wembley Stadium and Brazil’s Maracaná, Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca is one of football’s great cathedrals. Renamed by FIFA as Mexico City Stadium for this tournament, the home to Club América is also known as El Coloso de Santa Úrsula (The Colossus of Santa Úrsula), has more than 100,000 seats and has hosted two of the greatest players of all time lifting World Cup trophies: Pelé won the World Cup with Brazil here in 1970 and Diego Maradona did so with Argentina in 1986.The Azteca will further its historic place within the sport when it becomes the venue to a World Cup for the third time.Fun fact: Not only is Mexico City the most populated city in the western hemisphere, the city also boasts a world record 180 museums.Subscribe to The Athletic The AthleticI’m biased but I don’t think there are any better places to keep up to date with the 2026 World Cup than here on The Athletic.We have writers dotted around North America to provide the most comprehensive coverage of the tournament, right at your fingertips.And while the World Cup will dominate the agenda over the next few weeks, we will still have the rest of the sporting world covered, doing what we do best.If you aren’t already, make sure you are subscribed to The Athletic on an exclusive offer here.How to watch Mexico vs South Africa Getty ImagesHere is how you can watch the opening game of the 2026 World Cup, depending on where you are based.U.S.: FOXCanada: TSNMexico: Canal 5South Africa: SupersportUK: ITVWhat time does Mexico vs South Africa kick off? Getty ImagesIt’s the opening game of the World Cup, so fans across Europe will be glad to see that kick-off in this one isn’t in the dead of night.It is a 1pm start time in Mexico City, which makes it 3pm on the east coast of the United States and 12pm on the west coast.In the UK it will kick off at 8pm, and 9pm in central Europe.Welcome to the 2026 World Cup Getty ImagesHello and welcome along to The Athletic where it is finally time to kickoff the 2026 FIFA World Cup.The waiting is almost over as the tournament begins in Mexico City later on today, with co-hosts Mexico facing South Africa.It is the first of two games today and the first of 104 – yes, one hundred and four — matches in the tournament over the next five weeks and change.We will be building up to the opening game and the World Cup in general between now and kick-off, so make sure you stick with us!