From Pelé to Maradona, Azteca Writes Another Chapter in History

The legendary Estadio Azteca in Mexico City has already written an impressive chapter in World Cup history. The great Pelé beat Italy 4-1 in the 1970 final, Maradona used the “Hand of God” in 1986, and then Boruchaga at the same stadium to bring the trophy to Argentina.

The stars, the teams and the stories in one place, World Cup 2026, the special feature. Tonight, at 22:00 Israel time, Mexico and South Africa will take to the Azteca for the World Cup opener, in a replay of the opening match of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. That ended 1-1, and tonight the gates of hell may open if the hosts do not win, because an entire country is convinced the South Africans are merely a minor obstacle on the road to the final, no less. 4 View gallery Azteca Stadium, Mexico City (Photo: Ouz Moualem)

There is no delicate way to put it: anyone not in Mexico City cannot truly grasp what collective panic mixed with endless euphoria feels like. On the Mexican side, public pressure давно crossed the line. Veteran coach Javier Aguirre, who returned for a third stint to save the homeland, knows that anything short of a crushing victory will be received in the capital as a national tragedy.

On the professional level, Mexico’s dressing room has gone through a small drama in recent weeks. The injury to first-choice goalkeeper Luis Malagón upset the plans and left the position between the posts to young Raúl Rangel, who has shown impressive consistency in the warm-up matches, conceding just one goal in three games. Despite rumors of a heroic comeback by 40-year-old Guillermo Ochoa for a sixth World Cup, Aguirre is expected to hand the keys to Rangel again.

Up front, El Tri come in in top form after a crushing 5-1 win over Serbia. The veteran Raúl Jiménez is expected to start up front, ahead of Milan’s Santiago Giménez. Keep a close eye especially on Gilberto Mora, a Mexican sensation, a 17-year-old midfielder. In Mexico they say he is going to repeat Pelé’s first World Cup, when Pelé was the same age in 1958, the first title for Brazil. “He is our big card,” says Mexico fan Oscar, whom we met in the city’s Independence Square, Plaza de la Independencia. If Mora steps onto the pitch, he will break the local record of Manuel Rosas, the youngest player in Mexico’s World Cup history, a record that has stood since 1930, the first World Cup. 4 View gallery World Cup 2026, Mexico City (Photo: Ouz Moualem)

“The team is in its best physical, athletic and mental shape,” coach Aguirre said at the press conference where he tried to lower expectations before the hungry local media. “We respect South Africa enormously. Their style is not typical African and not European either, but a smart and very dangerous mix. They have a Belgian coach, Hugo Broos, who knows exactly how to set up a tactical team. No matter who starts for us, the approach will not change, high pressure, attacking the ball and quick transitions.”

South Africa arrive as the perfect underdog, the one holding a pin and looking for the local balloon. Although some members of the delegation suffered annoying delays on arrival because of visa problems and missed valuable days acclimating to Mexico’s altitude, including the assistant coach and the team doctor, they received a nice morale boost: excellent left back Aubrey Modiba, who had been a major doubt because of a serious hamstring injury, completed a full training session and is expected to start. 4 View gallery The Mexico national team in the final training session (Photo: Yuri CORTEZ / AFP)

The Belgian coach of the South Africans, Hugo Broos, played 40 years ago at the same stadium against Mexico, when Belgium lost 2-1, and knows the atmosphere well. He hopes his players can withstand the crowd’s fearsome pressure. “For us, it is going to be a fantastic experience, but our key is both simple and complicated,” he explained. “The most important thing is that we stick to our original game plan, and simply do not listen to what is happening in the stands. If we manage to neutralize the noise of the Mexican crowd in the first minutes, the pressure will start to work against them.”

This is South Africa’s first tournament since they hosted and failed to meet expectations in 2010, and this time too they are not expected to go far. Most of the squad is made up of players from the country’s two biggest clubs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, and the main weapon is expected to be striker Lyle Foster. Burnley may have been relegated from the Premier League, but he has done his part in front of goal this season. Foster, 25, was considered a fringe player in the squad until last year, but his performances in England earned him another chance, and he has looked excellent in the qualifiers and at the Africa Cup of Nations. 4 View gallery The National Guard near Azteca Stadium (Photo: REUTERS/Hannah Mckay)

While the coaches analyze formations and the players talk about pressure, the real World Cup is already underway in Plaza de la Independencia. Elliot, a South African who now lives in Australia, arrived in Mexico as part of a group of 30 fans. The journey took almost 27 hours, but he did not complain for a moment. “In 2010 the world came to us, now we are coming to them,” he says with a smile. He prefers not to dwell on ticket prices. “It’s a lot of money!” And his prediction? “I think it will be like 2010.” In other words, another 1-1 in the opening match.

Next to him we found May, a Brazilian who has lived in Mexico City for a year. For her, the next champion is already known. “Brazil,” she says without blinking. “We have a very good team.” She still believes Neymar can lead the Seleção, but is especially excited about the wonder kid Endrick. “He is amazing. I saw him score in the last match and I just started celebrating with him.”

The biggest optimist of all was found among the locals. Oscar, a proud Mexican, looked at us with a slightly surprised expression when we asked who he thought would lift the trophy. “Mexico,” he shoots back immediately. Why? “We’ll win the group, get past Korea, reach the quarterfinals and from there anything is possible.” And who is the most important man? “Mora,” he declares. Everything is already ready, says Amy. It is time to go to Mora.