World Cup 2026 Opens in Mexico City Amid Celebrations and Deepening Geopolitical Rifts

On Thursday, the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City became the first stadium to host three World Cup opening matches as the 2026 tournament kicked off with a ceremony headlined by Shakira and a Group A clash between Mexico and South Africa. The event launches a radically expanded competition: 48 nations, 104 matches, and for the first time three host countries — the United States, Canada and Mexico — each staging its own inaugural celebration. Yet even before the first ball was kicked, a chorus of analysts warned that this edition risks becoming the most geopolitically charged in the modern era. From Mexico City’s festive streets, the mood was buoyant, but the tournament is unfolding under the long shadow of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement, which has complicated travel for fans, officials and even players from certain participating nations [A3][A4][A24][A50].

The opening ceremony, starting 90 minutes before kick-off, showcased an abundance of Latin American musical talent. Shakira, making a record fourth appearance at a World Cup ceremony, performed the official song “Dai Dai” with Nigerian star Burna Boy, after a week of relentless rehearsals she documented on social media [A1][A2]. They were joined by a roster that included Alejandro Fernández, J Balvin, Belinda, and Los Ángeles Azules, weaving a narrative of Mexican identity through papel picado-inspired visuals [A9]. The setting was heavy with history: the Azteca, renovated for the occasion, is the ground where Pelé’s Brazil lifted the trophy in 1970 and where Diego Maradona scored the “Hand of God” and the “Goal of the Century” in 1986 [A5].

On the pitch, the match reprised the opening fixture of South Africa 2010, when these same sides drew 1-1. Mexico carried the weight of a dismal record in World Cup openers — seven previous attempts without a win — but enjoyed the advantages of home support and the Azteca’s 2,200-metre altitude. Coach Javier Aguirre’s young squad was unbeaten in eight matches and tipped to finally break the “curse” against a South Africa side that had struggled for consistency [A8][A35]. The first points in Group A were there for the taking, with South Korea and the Czech Republic scheduled to meet later in Guadalajara [A46].

Beyond the stadium, the politics were inescapable. The United States, which will host the bulk of the matches including the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, is actively engaged in hostilities with at least one participating country, and has imposed stringent visa restrictions that critics say amount to a de facto barrier for many supporters [A3][A4]. Gianni Infantino’s “great festival” rhetoric rings hollow for those excluded by cost or by bureaucratic hostility. Viewed from European capitals, the tournament is being parsed as a test of whether football’s globalising appeal can survive the great-power tensions of the mid-2020s [A24]. With 39 days of competition ahead, the question is not only who will lift the trophy, but whether the game itself can transcend the fractious politics of its hosts.