Mexico will be under pressure to get off to a winning start this time. The match will be held at the Estadio Azteca, which is hosting the World Cup for the third time.
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Mexico, one of the hosts of the World Cup, will face South Africa in their opening match on Thursday. Mexico will be under pressure to get off to a winning start this time. The match will be held at the Estadio Azteca, which is returning to the World Cup for the third time. The historic stadium also hosted the 1970 and 1986 World Cups. A crowd of 80,000 is expected for the match.
The first match between these two teams was also in the 2010 World Cup. That match ended in a 1-1 draw. That match was played in Johannesburg. This time, Mexico will be a strong candidate to win the first match. This Group 'A' also includes South Korea and the Czech Republic (Czech Republic). Therefore, the first 3 points will be the most important for Mexico. There will also be an opportunity to take advantage of the home field.
Mexico is unbeaten in its last 8 matches. This is also the team's best performance journey. For coach Javier Aguirre, this rhythm will be a confidence-boosting performance. For Mexico, a one-point performance will be largely unacceptable. South Africa is playing in the World Cup for the first time since 2010. Coach Hugo Bros believes that a team full of homegrown players is capable of producing surprising results in the tournament.
When he was a player in the 1986 World Cup, he represented Belgium against Mexico. He has now instructed his players to focus only on the opening match. He further said, "This World Cup is coming with a big experience for us. We should not pay attention to what is being discussed outside." He also says that we will play for the win.
South Korea-Czech Republic
South Korea will face the Czech Republic in their first group match of the 2026 World Cup on Friday morning (Nepal time). This time South Korea is full of a mix of young and experienced players. This time they are playing in the World Cup for the 11th time in a row. In 2022, South Korea reached the last 16, and in the process, Hwang Hee-chan scored a goal in injury time against Portugal.
He wants to repeat the same performance this time too. He says, "If I can repeat the performance I played against Portugal, it will be good not only for me, but also for the team. For now, I am working hard." He is playing in his third World Cup in a row. He believes that the first match in any tournament is the most important.
The Czech Republic will be both enthusiastic and confident for their first match. The Czech Republic, which won six matches in European qualifying, was in a kind of crisis last year. At that time, they lost against the Faroe Islands. That was the worst moment in Czech football history. Then the responsibility of team training was given to coach Miroslav Kobek, 74.
Since then, the Czech team's performance has improved. The team made it to the World Cup through the playoffs. The Czech team is playing in the World Cup for the first time since 2006. He says, "Right now, our team has some defensive problems, we have to accept that." He also believes that it will improve and is confident that the team will get off to a good start.
