Mexico and South Africa will face each other on June 11, 2026, in the opening match of the World Cup, which will be held in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Mexico, one of the organizers, has an advantage over its rival, while the African team will try to emulate Cameroon, which caused a sensation in Italy in 1990 by defeating Diego Maradona's Argentine team, and Senegal, the 'executioner' of France in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. According to a survey by the Argentine News Agency, so far, the only organizing team of these tournaments that lost its debut was Qatar in the last World Cup when it fell 2-0 against Ecuador. Before that match, there were seven victories (Italy in 1934, Brazil in 1950, Sweden in 1958, Chile in 1962, Germany in 2006, Brazil in 2014, and Russia in 2018) and three draws (England in 1966, Mexico in 1970, and South Africa in 2010). In several World Cups, different matches were played at the same time in different venues, so there was no single match, and between 1974 and 2002, the opening match was played by the reigning world champion. In that statistic, there were four wins (Uruguay 1954, Brazil 1962, West Germany 1994, and Brazil 1998), three draws (Brazil in 1974, West Germany in 1978, and Italy in 1986), and three defeats, two of which are by the Argentine team (in Spain 1982 against Belgium and in Italy 1990 against Cameroon) and one by France in 2002. The following is the complete detail of the opening matches in the World Cups. Uruguay 1930 World Cup - Played on July 13, Pocitos Stadium, Montevideo: France 4 (Lucien Laurent, Marcel Langiller, and André Maschinot 2) – Mexico 1 (Juan Carreño). - Played on July 13, Parque Central Stadium, Montevideo: United States 3 (Bart McGhee, Tom Florie, and Bertrand Patenaude) – Belgium 0. Italy 1934 World Cup - Played on May 27, National Stadium, Rome: Italy 7 (Ángel Schiavio 3, Raimundo Orsi 2, Giovanni Ferrari, and Giuseppe Meazza) – United States 1 (Aldo Donelli). - Played on May 27, Luigi Ferraris Stadium, Genoa: Spain 3 (José Iraragorri 2, one from a penalty, and Isidro Lángara) – Brazil 1 (Leônidas). - Played on May 27, Benito Mussolini Stadium, Turin: Austria 3 (Matthias Sindelar, Anton Schall, and Josef Bican) – France 2 (Jean Nicolas and Georges Verriest from a penalty). - Played on May 27, Giorgio Ascarelli Stadium, Naples: Hungary 4 (Pál Teleki, Géza Toldi 2, and Jenő Vincze) – Egypt 2 (Abdulrahman Fawzi 2). - Played on May 27, Littorio Stadium, Trieste: Czechoslovakia 2 (Antonín Puč and Oldřich Nejedlý) – Romania 1 (Stefan Dobay). - Played on May 27, San Siro Stadium, Milan: Switzerland 3 (Leopold Kielholz 2 and André Abegglen) - Netherlands 2 (Johannes 'Kick' Smit and Leen Vente). - Played on May 27, Giovanni Berta Stadium, Florence: Germany 5 (Stanislaus 'Tau' Kobierski, Otto Siffling, and Edmund Conen 3) – Belgium 2 (Bernard Voorhoof 2). - Played on May 27, Littoriale Stadium, Bologna: Sweden 3 (Sven Jonasson 2 and Knut Kroon) – Argentina 2 (Ernesto Belis and Alberto Luis Galateo). France 1938 World Cup - Played on June 4, Parc des Princes Stadium, Paris: Switzerland 1 (André Abegglen) – Germany 1 (Josef Gauchel). Brazil 1950 World Cup - Played on June 24, Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro: Brazil 4 (Ademir 2, Jair, and Baltazar) – Mexico 0. Switzerland 1954 World Cup - Played on June 16, Charmilles Stadium, Geneva: Brazil 5 (Baltazar, Didi, Pinga 2, and Julinho) – Mexico 0. - Played on June 16, Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne: Yugoslavia 1 (Miloš Milutinović) – France 0. - Played on June 16, Wankdorf Stadium, Bern: Uruguay 2 (Óscar Omar Míguez and Juan Schiaffino) – Czechoslovakia 0. - Played on June 16, Hardturm Stadium, Zurich: Austria 1 (Erich Probst) – Scotland 0. Sweden 1958 World Cup - Played on June 8, Rasunda Stadium, Solna: Sweden 3 (Agne Simonsson 2 and Nils Liedholm from a penalty) – Mexico 0. Chile 1962 World Cup - Played on May 30, Carlos Dittborn Stadium, Arica: Uruguay 2 (José Sasía and Luis Cubilla) – Colombia 1 (Francisco Zuluaga from a penalty). - Played on May 30, National Stadium, Santiago: Chile 3 (Leonel Sánchez 2 and Jaime Ramírez) – Switzerland 1 (Rolf Wüthrich). - Played on May 30, Sausalito Stadium, Viña del Mar: Brazil 2 (Mario Zagallo and Pelé) – Mexico 0. - Played on May 30, Braden Copper Company Stadium, Rancagua: Argentina 1 (Héctor Facundo) – Bulgaria 0. England 1966 World Cup - Played on July 11, Wembley Stadium, London: England 0 – Uruguay 0. Mexico 1970 World Cup - Played on May 31, Azteca Stadium, Mexico City: Mexico 0 – Soviet Union 0. Germany 1974 World Cup - Played on June 13, Waldstadion, Frankfurt: Brazil 0 – Yugoslavia 0. Argentina 1978 World Cup - Played on June 1, Monumental Stadium, Núñez: West Germany 0 – Poland 0. Spain 1982 World Cup - Played on June 13, Camp Nou Stadium, Barcelona: Argentina 0 – Belgium 1 (Erwin Vandenbergh). Mexico 1986 World Cup - Played on May 31, Azteca Stadium, Mexico City: Italy 1 (Alessandro Altobelli) – Bulgaria 1 (Nasko Sirakov). Italy 1990 World Cup - Played on June 8, Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, Milan: Argentina 0 – Cameroon 1 (François Omam-Biyik). USA 1994 World Cup - Played on June 17, Soldier Field Stadium, Chicago: Germany 1 (Jürgen Klinsmann) – Bolivia 0. France 1998 World Cup - Played on June 10, Stade de France, Saint-Denis: Brazil 2 (César Sampaio and Thomas Boyd own goal) – Scotland 1 (John Collins from a penalty). Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup - Played on May 31, World Cup Stadium, Seoul: France 0 – Senegal 1 (Papa Bouba Diop). Germany 2006 World Cup - Played on June 9, Allianz Arena, Munich: Germany 4 (Philipp Lahm, Miroslav Klose 2, and Torsten Frings) - Costa Rica 2 (Paulo Wanchope 2). South Africa 2010 World Cup - Played on June 11, Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg: South Africa 1 (Siphiwe Tshabalala) – Mexico 1 (Rafael Márquez). Brazil 2014 World Cup - Played on June 12, Arena Corinthians, São Paulo: Brazil 3 (Neymar 2, the second from a penalty, and Oscar) – Croatia 1 (Marcelo own goal). Russia 2018 World Cup - Played on June 14, Luzhniki Olympic Stadium, Moscow: Russia 5 (Yuri Gazinskiy, Denis Cheryshev 2, Artem Dzyuba, and Aleksandr Golovin) – Saudi Arabia 0. Qatar 2022 World Cup - Played on November 20, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor: Qatar 0 – Ecuador 2 (Enner Valencia 2, the first from a penalty).
