Then FIFA President Sepp Blatter made the historic announcement in Zürich, marking the first time the tournament would be held on African soil.

The continent was behind SA to welcome football lovers from around the world.  The 90 000-capacity revamped FNB stadium in Johannesburg was going to host the much-anticipated opening ceremony and millions of decibels that were going to be created by Vuvuzelas. The winter atmosphere did not stop the soccer-crazy nation to sing the most powerful national Anthem.

It was exactly on this day in June 2010 when the opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup between SA and Mexico took place. The historic match was played at Soccer City (now known as FNB Stadium) ended in a 1-1 draw with Siphiwe Tshabalala scoring an iconic opening goal for SA, and Rafael Márquez equalizing for Mexico.

Today history will repeat itself when the two nations will face each other again after 16 years. Bothe teams both have the youngest squad with Mexico boasting the likes of Gilberto Mora who made history by debuting for the senior National Team at just 16 years old in January 2025, which means when his country faced SA he was only 2 years old. SA on the other side will be hoping that the most loved defender in the United States league Mbekezeli Mbokazi, 20 will be the wall at the defence line.

Today the world will be hoping to see the repeat of Mexican wave versus Vuvuzela. Unfortunately, the game will be decided in the field by 22 players. Unlike in 2010 SA had 13 players that included vuvuzelas and African continent, today SA will be facing almost 133 million of Mexicans and a deadly crop of players that include Santiago Giménez who plays for AC Milan as a striker, widely regarded as Mexico’s primary attacking threat, The veteran Raúl Jiménez, a forward currently at Fulham F.C., Julián Quiñones who plays as a forward for Al-Qadsiah amongst the few

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos is preparing a mix of seasoned veterans and rising stars for the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup against co-hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca. Key players tasked with handling the high altitude and the Mexican pressure include Ronwen Williams (captain and goalkeeper), Lyle Foster, and playmaker Relebohile Mofokeng. Oswin Appollis and Tshepang Moremi,  Both are heavily tipped to provide pace and width from the flanks.

For the first time in history, the FIFA World Cup is hosting three separate opening ceremonies. The main curtain-raiser in Mexico City begins at 19:30 SAST on June,11 2026, just 90 minutes before the opening match between SA and Mexico, 21:00 CAT

–MoffatMokoena–