Overview
- The tournament began Thursday, June 11, with a sold-out opening ceremony at an upgraded Estadio Azteca and Mexico hosting South Africa in the first match.
- Mexico, coached by Javier Aguirre, started the competition with a pragmatic 4-3-3 setup that places Raúl Jiménez at the center of the attack.
- This edition expands to 48 teams and 104 matches, introducing a new Round of 32 that adds an extra knockout stage and heavier scheduling demands for squads and broadcasters.
- Operational problems flagged before kickoff remain active concerns, including state probes into dynamic ticket pricing and resale, visa denials that affected officials and staff, and local protests that have raised security and access questions.
- Global viewers will follow games on major partners such as FOX and Telemundo in the U.S. and Zee/Zee5 in India while host cities offer large fan zones and free public screenings for supporters without tickets.