Mexico hosts – Javier Aguirre says Mexico must break a World Cup-opening trend of five losses and two draws in seven previous tournament starts. The rematch of the 2010 opener in South Africa arrives Thursday at Azteca Stadium, with Mexico riding a seven-game unbeaten run an
Mexico’s World Cup openers have often felt like a locked door—hard to push through, easy to remember. On Thursday, at Azteca Stadium, El Tri get their chance to prove the pattern can end.
For Mexico. the opening-day record before this tournament is brutal: in seven previous World Cup instances. it has suffered five losses and two draws. Coach Javier Aguirre met that history head-on at a news conference Wednesday. speaking at Azteca Stadium as the team prepares to start the 48-team tournament against South Africa.
“We must break that trend,” Aguirre said. When asked about the winless sequence, he added, “I did not know about that, but I’ll mention it to the guys. It’s a good reason to tell them we need to go out there and win the match. Let’s hope we break that trend tomorrow.”
Thursday’s match is set for 3 p.m. ET / noon PT and is a rematch of the 2010 World Cup opener in South Africa. That meeting in Johannesburg ended 1-1.
Aguirre, now in his third stint as Mexico manager, insists his team is not arriving as a squad trying to survive—it’s arriving as a squad believing. He said Mexico is playing its best football in years and is riding a seven-game unbeaten streak. El Tri’s last loss came against Paraguay in November.
“It could be a great day for us; come what may. it will be a celebration that endures for decades. ” Aguirre said. He also tied the urgency to the experience of the players themselves. Aguirre played for Mexico at the 1986 World Cup on home soil. a tournament in which the Mexican squad did not contest the opening match but did reach the quarterfinals. “I hope we get off on the right foot, just as we did back then,” he said. “The players know it: tomorrow could be a historic day for many of them. as it is unlikely these guys will ever experience a World Cup on home soil again.”.
The cold facts behind Mexico’s opening-day struggle are already on the record. Mexico lost its opening-day games in 1930, 1950, 1954, 1958 and 1962, and it drew on two occasions—1970 at home and 2010.
Some World Cups have delivered different scheduling quirks for opening-day starters. Aguirre recalled that in tournaments where multiple matches kicked off simultaneously on opening day, Uruguay in 1930 saw France beat Mexico 4–1, while the United States defeated Belgium 3–0.
Even the 1986 opener carried its own lesson. Defending champion Italy played the tournament opener against Bulgaria, a 1-1 draw in Mexico City. Mexico then played its first group-stage game two days later and recorded a 2-1 win over Belgium.
That day also carried a personal link between Aguirre and South Africa’s coach. Aguirre and Hugo Broos—an ex-Belgium international—were on opposite sides that time. Aguirre said, “I vividly remember the confidence with which we took the field to face Belgium. We felt certain the match wouldn’t go poorly; we understood the challenge Belgium posed. and the South Africa coach — who played in that match— learned from that experience.”.
Broos, appointed as South Africa coach in May 2021, has been tasked with steering a team back to the biggest stage. South Africa will play its first FIFA World Cup in 16 years, and Broos also secured a third-place finish at the 2023 African Cup of Nations.
If the setting feels enormous, Broos is trying to keep it from becoming a distraction. He described the challenge of playing in front of 87,000 Mexicans—then immediately shifted the focus back to football.
“For sure it is big challenge. to play in front of 87. 000 Mexicans. but I will tell the players to focus on the match. The Mexicans (supporters) at the stadium do not play, they just shout and sing and dance,” Broos said. “We have to focus on the game (and) if we can do that and not be bothered by the noise of the Mexicans. we can have a good game tomorrow.”.
Broos also looked at what happened after that earlier Mexico-Belgium day. After losing to Mexico in 1986, Broos and Belgium rallied to reach the semifinals. Mexico then lost to Germany on penalty kicks in the round of 16.
For Broos, the goal is to change the feel of the first whistle rather than chase memories. “We don’t have the pressure that belongs to the host,” he said. “We are prepared very well for tomorrow’s match.”
Aguirre, meanwhile, keeps circling the same target: not just a win, but an escape from an opening-day history that has repeatedly stalled Mexico at the start of the World Cup journey. Thursday offers one clear test—right at the point where the trend has always seemed to tighten.
Mexico vs South Africa Javier Aguirre Hugo Broos World Cup opening match Azteca Stadium 2010 World Cup rematch Mexico opening-day record