Mexico City, June 3 -- Mexico and South Africa will kick off the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 11 at the Mexico City Stadium, repeating the tournament's opening fixture in 2010.
South Africa is back at the finals for the first time since then. In the same group, South Korea will make its 12th World Cup appearance and the Czech Republic returns after a 20-year absence.
Mexico team: Mexico, hosting the World Cup for a third time, will be looking for a deeper run than its recent tournaments have produced. A group-stage exit in Qatar four years ago endeda streak of seven consecutive appearances in the round of 16 between 1994 and 2018.
The country's only quarterfinal appearances came when it hosted the competition in 1970 and 1986.
Javier Agu...