The legendary grass of the Azteca Stadium will be unique in the world. FIFA has granted the Mexico City venue the opportunity to be the only one to host three openings of a World Cup. First there was the Brazilian joy of '70, then the Maradonian madness of '86 and now the biggest World Cup in history.
The opening match will be on June 11, 2026. Mexico will have 13 group stage matches and another three in the direct elimination rounds. Guadalajara will have four games, Monterrey four and the capital another five. Canada, the other organizer, will have 13 games distributed between Vancouver and Toronto. The rest (78 matches) will be held in the United States, including the final that will be at the New York Stadium in New Jersey with 82,500 seats to be played on July 19. In total there will be 104 matches with 48 countries.
In this way, the Mexican team will debut against their team, then travel to Guadalajara to the Akron Stadium and close the phase at the Azteca. The World Cup format will be unprecedented due to the number of participating countries and the format: there will be twelve groups of four. The first two in each group along with the eight best third parties will qualify for the round of 32. “We are the only ones to have the inauguration for the third time. Without a doubt, all the people who accompany us at the World Cup are going to fall in love with the country,” Jaime Lozano, current Mexico coach, told FIFA.
The first match of México 70 was a match between the Mexicans and the Soviet Union that ended with a gray goalless draw and where the use of warning cards was used. The first game of the 1986 tournament was between Bulgaria and Italy, in a 1-1 draw. That time, the Mexican host played three days after the opening against Belgium, where they won 1-2. The Azteca, built and completed on May 29, 1966, has been the dream setting. This year the works for its remodeling will begin, which have been adapted by the protests of the residents of Santa Úrsula in the face of imminent water access problems and the increase in the cost of living.
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