Between Pelé and Maradona: Azteca Writes a New Chapter in History

The legendary Estadio Azteca in Mexico City has already written an impressive chapter in World Cup history. Pelé defeated Italy 4-1 in the 1970 final, Maradona used the “Hand of God” there in 1986, and Burruchaga scored in the final at the same stadium to bring the trophy to Argentina. The stars, the teams and the stories all in one place: the 2026 World Cup special.

Tonight, at 10 p.m. 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 one ended 1-1, and tonight the gates of hell may open if the host does not win, because an entire country is convinced the South Africans are merely a small hurdle on the way to the final, nothing less. 4 View gallery Estadio Azteca, Mexico City (Photo: Oz Mualem)

There is no polite way to put it: anyone not inside Mexico City cannot truly grasp what collective panic mixed with endless euphoria looks like. On the Mexican side, public pressure crossed the line long ago. 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 bit of drama in recent weeks. The injury to first-choice goalkeeper Luis Malagon changed the plans and left the position between the posts to the young Raul Rangel, who showed impressive stability 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 again to Rangel. Up front, El Tri arrives in top form after a crushing 5-1 win over Serbia. The veteran Raul Jimenez is expected to start at center forward, ahead of Milan’s Santiago Gimenez. Keep a special eye on Gilberto Mora, a Mexican sensation, a 17-year-old midfielder, but in Mexico they say he is set to repeat Pelé’s first World Cup, which came at that same age in 1958, Brazil’s first title. “He is our biggest trump card,” said Mexico fan Oscar, whom we met in the city’s Independence Square, Angel de la Independencia. If Mora takes the field, 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 Everything is ready for the opening whistle (Photo: Oz Mualem)

“The team is in its best physical, athletic and mental shape,” Aguirre declared at the press conference, where he tried to lower expectations before the hungry local media. “We respect South Africa enormously. Their style is neither typically African nor European, 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 system will not change, high press, going after the ball and quick transitions.”

South Africa arrives as the perfect underdog, the one that holds a pin and looks for the local balloon. Although some members of the delegation experienced annoying delays on arrival because of visa issues and missed valuable acclimatization days at 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 at 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 he knows the atmosphere well. He hopes his players can withstand the crowd’s fear factor. “For us it is going to be a fantastic experience, but our key is simple and complex at the same time,” 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 working against them.”

This is South Africa’s first tournament since hosting and failing to meet expectations in 2010, and this time too it is 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. Although Burnley were relegated from the Premier League, he did his part in front of goal this season. Foster, 25, was considered a peripheral 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 Estadio Azteca (Photo: REUTERS/Hannah Mckay)

While the coaches analyze formations and the players talk about pressure, the real World Cup is already taking place in Angel de la Independencia. Elliot, a South African who now lives in Australia, arrived in Mexico as part of a group of 30 fans. The trip took almost 27 hours, but he did not complain once. “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. “That is a lot of money!” And his forecast? “I think it will be like 2010.” In other words, another 1-1 in the opening match.

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

We found the biggest optimist among the locals. Oscar, a proud Mexican, looked at us with a slightly surprised expression when we asked who he thinks will 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 says. Everything is already ready, says Emi. It’s time to go to Mora.

First published: 01:30, 11.06.26