The FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off with an exuberating opening ceremony at the Mexico City Stadium as Mexico gears up to take on South Africa in the opening match of the tournament. The 23rd edition of the tournament will be the biggest in history, with 48 teams set to lock horns for the ultimate football glory. Legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be in focus once again, but other stars have also hogged the limelight for the global showpiece.
The tournament will feature 104 matches with three nations hosting it for the first time. 16 cities across the United States of America, Mexico and Canada will host some of the best teams and players in an over a month-long tournament. Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle will host the matches in the US, while Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey will play host for the Mexico games. Toronto and Vancouver will be the hosts for the Canadian leg.
Talking about the opening ceremony, the ceremony will take place a couple of hours before the start of the first match between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa. The opening ceremony will not be held only in a single city this time around. It will be an interconnected event across Mexico, Canada and the USA.ย The first ceremony will take place in Mexico ahead of their opener against South Africa. The ceremony will begin at 10:30 PM IST, two hours before the start of the opener. The second ceremony will take place in Canada on June 12 at 11 PM IST, before the start of Canada’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The third one will be held in the USA, starting at 5 AM IST on June 13, one hour before the US kick their campaign off against Paraguay.
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