Mexico and South Africa will meet in the opening match of this year’s World Cup at the Azteca on Thursday, repeating the 2010 opener that ended 1-1. It is a rare rematch for a tournament curtain-raiser, and one that sends the mind straight back to Siphiwe Tshabalala’s spectacular strike and Rafael Márquez’s 79th-minute equaliser in Johannesburg.
Matt Reilly put the point plainly: the opening match of the year’s World Cup is Mexico v South Africa, and it was also the first game of South Africa’s World Cup in 2010. That earlier meeting mattered because it was not just any draw; it was the first time the host nation had opened the tournament in front of its own crowd, with Tshabalala giving South Africa the lead before Márquez rescued Mexico late on.
The reason this matchup stands out now is that World Cup opening fixtures have usually moved with the format of the tournament rather than the same two teams coming back around. In the early years, the competition often began with simultaneous games, including Italy in 1934 when all 16 teams started at 4pm CET on 27 May, and the last World Cup to feature simultaneous curtain-raisers was Chile in 1962. Once the tournament settled into a single showcase opener, repeat first games became a curiosity rather than a habit.
Mexico were already part of the only previously noted repeat opening fixture, which is why this meeting feels more unusual than routine. Brazil met Mexico three times in four tournaments between 1950 and 1962, beating them 4-0 in a standalone opener in 1950, 5-0 in 1954 and 2-0 in 1962, with Pelé on the scoresheet in that last one. That history makes Thursday’s game part of a very short list, not a broad pattern.
The question that remains is whether Mexico and South Africa can produce anything close to the drama of 2010. South Africa’s opener that day was remembered for Tshabalala’s goal as much as the result, and Mexico will again be judged on whether they can turn a rare opening-day rematch into something more than a historical footnote. For a fixture that already has one famous chapter, the Azteca offers a fresh stage and the chance to write another.
Other World Cup oddities are floating around the tournament too, from 10 Real Madrid players being spread across the competition with none in Spain’s squad, to three former Everton managers taking charge of teams and New Zealand calling up Tommy Smith, who played for Braintree Town last season. Luis Chávez, meanwhile, is being linked with a fight for his Mexico World Cup place, adding another layer to a squad picture that will sharpen as Thursday approaches.
