FIFA World Cup 2026 Opening Ceremony Live Updates: After a wait of four years, the FIFA World Cup is finally upon us, bigger and (hopefully) better! Co-hosts Mexico take on South Africa in the first
game of the 2026 World Cup which will be preceded by an expansive Opening Ceremony.
South Africa are back in the World Cup fold for the first time since the 2010 edition, which it hosted. Mexico, meanwhile, are carrying the scars of the last edition in Qatar where it failed to advance out of the group stage for the first time since 1978.
Scroll down for our live coverage of the FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony and the opener between Mexico and South Africa
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the opener between Mexico and South Africa. It promises to be a thriller.
Defending champions Argentina work out during a practice session for the FIFA World Cup on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Kansas City. (AP Photo)
After a wait of four years, it’s here! The FIFA World Cup of 2026 promises to be bigger than ever and a lot messier too as we have witnessed already. It’s the time that football fans briefly change affiliations. Arsenal and Manchester United fans could find themselves uniting in their love for the England national team. Someone sitting in India could find common cause with a Brazilian in the beautiful flair in the way the Brazilian football team plays.
But if you have never watched a FIFA World Cup (and are being forced to do so out of peer pressure), worry not. We have you covered. With our beginner’s guide to the FIFA World Cup, here’s how you can sound much savvier about the spectacle.
READ OUR BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO THE FIFA WORLD CUP