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The players are entering the pitch and lining up for the national anthems.

Mexico coach Javier Aguirre has left out captain Edson Alvarez and veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa for today's game.

Instead, Raul Rengel will start in goal and Erik Lira will be in Alvarez's place in midfield. Raúl Jiménez leads Mexico's ⁠attack

South Africa is captained by goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and Lyle Foster will lead the attack.

Speaking of Messi, you can be pretty sure he's just as driven to win this trophy as he was in 2022.

But there's another title he's undoubtedly got his eye on: the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer. Currently, that record belongs to Miroslav Klose of Germany, who scored 16 goals across four tournaments. Messi is only three goals behind and, with an additional knockout round added to this expanded tournament, he has a definite shot at claiming those bragging rights.

But there's more intrigue here — because just one goal behind Messi, with 12 goals, is France's superstar Kylian Mbappé, who scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final yet still ended up on the losing side. 

So Mbappé and Messi will be going head to head again in 2026, even though they're not scheduled to play against each other in the tournament — yet.

There's no one clear favourite to lift the FIFA World Cup Trophy on July 19, but the leading contenders are European: France and Spain appear to be the front-runners, with England close behind. Portugal is a slightly longer shot, alongside Brazil and Argentina. 

It might be surprising to some that the Argentines are considered an outside shot at defending their Qatar 2022 title, but consider that superstar Lionel Messi is now 38, and the squad's core is largely the same as it was that year.

Here is a quick reminder of the matchups for the first stage of the tournament.

Canada is in Group B alongside Qatar (widely considered one of the weakest teams in the tournament), Switzerland (a formidable squad that has reached the Round of 16 in the last three World Cups), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (an extreme long shot).

Mexico, looking to bounce back from a group-stage exit in 2022, is slotted into Group A. They will face South Africa (a solid mid-tier team), South Korea (who advanced to the 2022 knockout stage), and the Czech Republic (a strong contender).

In the group stage, teams earn three points for a win and one for a draw. The top two teams from each group will progress to the next round, along with the eight best third-place teams across the tournament.

With all the fanfare and festivities, you might have forgotten there's actual sport happening today. We're just a few minutes from kick-off of this World Cup, with co-hosts Mexico set to take on South Africa.

Mexico (currently No. 14 in the world) is expected to secure a win against its much lower ranked opponents (South Africa is No. 60). But then again, everyone thought the same when these two teams met in the opening match of the 2010 World Cup, when South Africa were hosts.

Instead, Siphiwe Tshabalala stunned the world with an incredible goal against Mexico — and an awesome team celebration — that remains one of the most iconic opening match moments in tournament history.

Mexico grabbed a leveller in that match to make the final score 1-1, but today — especially as hosts —  they'll be going all out for the win.

Performers during the opening ceremony.

Fans inside the Estadio Azteca.

J Balvin performs.

A performer during the World Cup opening ceremony in Mexico City today.

Here are some of the sights from the opening ceremony in Mexico City, ahead of Mexico’s match against South Africa, which begins at 3 p.m. ET.

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