FIFA World Cup Opening Match: South Africa ‘s Bafana Bafana Are Underdogs Against Mexico’s Killer Squad
By Abdulgafar Oladimeji
Bafana Bafana of South Africa will next Thursday trade tackles against co host nation , Mexico in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Southern Africans will be at the cenre of the grand opening show that would attract hundreds of millions of viewers from across the globe.
Mexico coach Javier Aguirre is expected to unleash a team that is an mix grill of youth and experience in the chase to win the title on home soil.
The Mexican coach has at his disposals the following world class players, Goalkeepers
Carlos Acevedo,Guillermo Ochoa, Raul Rangel
Defenders, Edson Alvarez,Mateo Chavez
Jesus Gallardo, Cesar Montes, Israel Reyes, Jorge Sanchez, Johan Vasquez
Midfielders,Luis Chavez,Alvaro Fidalgo, Brian Gutierrez, Erik Lira, Gilberto Mora,Luis Romo, Orbelin Pineda, Obed Vargas
Forwards,Roberto Alvarado, Santiago Gimenez, Armando Gonzalez,Cesar Huerta,Raul Jimenez
.Guillermo Martinez,Julian Quinones, Alexis Vega.
The El Tricolor as the Mexicans are called will be under immense pressure to win their first game against the South Africans to begin and also have a smooth cruise in their 2026 world cup campaign.
The 83 , 000 capacity stadium is anticipated would be crowded by Mexican football fans in their Green, White and Red traditional national teams replica’s to dwarf the South Africans.
Playing in group A, will be Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech.
South African tactician, Hugo Broos, said the under dog tag of his lads would serve as a motivation to upset Mexico and their other group stage opponents.
According to recent FIFA rankings, Bafana Bafana stands as the weakest of the sides that makes up the group.
Th e South African coach has although personally expressed worries over the form of the team, pointing out that “It might take a few more days to adapt to the high-altitude area. I saw players who couldn’t perform to their desired level. This is clearly due to the high altitude. I am confident we can finish preparations for the opening match “
He added that “We knew we had to be here three days in advance because adapting to the high altitude and being cautious about training content is necessary.”
South Africa Football Association, SAFA had also stated that they had constraints with securing visas to proceed to Mexico ahead of time.
SAFA said they “experienced challenges regarding visas for some players and officials” .
