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Javier Aguirre knows precisely what awaits his Mexico broadside erstwhile it hosts the World Cup opener against South Africa connected Thursday (June 11, 2026) successful Mexico City to footwear disconnected Group A.
Forty years and 1 week ago, Aguirre played each 90 minutes of big Mexico's awesome 2-1 triumph over Belgium to unfastened El Tri's 1986 World Cup campaign, a lucifer decided by a 39th-minute extremity from legendary Mexico striker Hugo Sanchez.
Now successful his third stint arsenic the manager of the nationalist squad helium erstwhile played for, Aguirre has tried to instil a household ethos, successful portion due to the fact that helium knows what they're astir to spell done volition be unparalleled successful the remainder of their playing careers.
"There's thing similar playing successful your location country," Aguirre said successful Spanish astatine Wednesday's (June 10, 2026) pre-match quality conference.
"There are a batch of radical present who were not calved yet the past clip we had a World Cup here, and this is what I person told to them clip and again.” "I deliberation the connection has trickled down, and I person convinced them, and they person utilized the connection household organically. So this tells maine that they consciousness precise comfortable. It's a precise beardown word."
Aguirre took implicit the programme again after repeated losses to the United States and others successful continental competitions aboriginal successful the 2026 World Cup cycle, and his instrumentality has coincided with a instrumentality to continental supremacy.
El Tri swept the 2025 CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) Nations League and CONCACAF Gold Cup titles, defeating Panama successful the erstwhile last and the U.S.A. successful the latter.
Striker Raul Jimenez, who took years to retrieve his afloat signifier aft a scary caput wounded suffered playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers successful November 2020 scored six times across 4 matches betwixt the semifinals and finals of those competitions. The anticipation is that those experiences springiness El Tri the aforesaid feeling that Aguirre said they carried onto the Estadio Azteca pitch 40 years ago.
"I retrieve however assured we were erstwhile we went connected the field," helium recalled. "We felt that the crippled was not going to spell wrong."
Full ellipse for South Africa
It's besides a full-circle infinitesimal for South Africa. When it became the archetypal African federation to big a World Cup successful 2010, South Africa opened with a 1-1 gully against Mexico successful Johannesburg. It failed to suffice for the adjacent 3 World Cups earlier astonishing overmuch of the satellite by besting Nigeria successful Group C of Africa's qualifying setup. Even so, they participate arsenic the decided group underdogs.
"We don't person pressure," said Bafana Bafana midfielder Teboho Mokoena. "The unit is connected Mexico, the host. So for america arsenic a team, we cognize what is expected of us, and we cognize however overmuch we've prepared for this crippled and this tournament. So of course, we're conscionable looking guardant to the crippled tomorrow."
South Korea vs. Czech Republic
In the different Group A brushwood on Thursday (June 11, 2026) night, South Korean attacker Son Heung-min volition look successful his 4th World Cup and effort to assistance his federation beforehand from the radical signifier successful consecutive tournaments for the archetypal time. They look a Czech broadside led by Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick, who scored 5 qualifying goals.
