Mexico and South Africa both faced challenges

History tends to repeat itself at the World Cup. Such is the case with Mexico and South Africa, two groups that will face off in the World Cup opening match for the second time in historical past, just as they did in Johannesburg on June 11, 2010. The rating that evening was 1-1.

Many still keep in mind Siphiwe Tshabalala and his highly effective shot into the top nook that beat Mexican goalkeeper Óscar Pérez, and a celebration that stays etched in the collective reminiscence of the soccer world. Unfortunately for the South African workforce that evening, Rafa Márquez equalized for El Tri with 11 minutes remaining during what turned out to be a disappointing World Cup for the host nation.

Sixteen years later, the 2026 World Cup kicks off, curiously enough, with the same matchup, but with the roles reversed. Mexico is now the host at Azteca Stadium, identified during this competitors as Mexico City Stadium, at 7,216 toes above sea stage. It would be the third World Cup the venue has hosted.

“It won’t be easy at all,” South Africa coach Hugo Broos said last December upon studying his workforce would debut against one of the hosts. “It’s a great thing to play in front of 80,000 people. We have nothing to lose.”

On the Mexican aspect, the similarities to 2010 are putting — and not essentially for the suitable causes. Coach Javier Aguirre is back on El Tri’s bench — the same coach who led that marketing campaign in South Africa — which, at first look, might sound curious, though in apply it displays the stagnation of a soccer workforce that has gone eight consecutive World Cups without advancing past the spherical of 16.

Former Barcelona participant Márquez, who scored the equalizer, also stays related to the national workforce, now as an assistant coach, with the mandate to take the reins of the workforce once the Aguirre period concludes after the World Cup. The squad has seen more than a dozen coaches come and go since 2010, including a qualification for Brazil 2014 that practically ended in tragedy before a objective by the United States rescued the Mexican workforce and sealed its admission into the match.

“Javier [Aguirre] was a firefighter in 2002, he was a firefighter in 2010 and he stepped in as a firefighter again then — it’s the same old story,” said John Sutcliff, a journalist who has coated Mexico for more than 36 years. “[The federation officials] aren’t working in the best interest of the national team. There’s a lot of interest in bringing in foreigners [to the Mexican league] for business purposes and we don’t have players in Europe’s top leagues.”

Mexico’s latest document speaks for itself. It was eradicated in the World Cup spherical of 16 in 2010 by Argentina, by the Netherlands in 2014, by Brazil in 2018 and failed to even advance past the group stage in Qatar in 2022. Considered the “Giant of CONCACAF,” Mexico has remained dominant in its area since 2010, with 5 Gold Cups, although it has misplaced ground to the United States in the Nations League.

Outside the area, its participation in 2010 has been restricted mainly to two editions of the Copa América held on U.S. soil, in which it has failed in both, reaching the quarterfinals in 2016 and being eradicated in the group stage in 2024.

“I think it’s been a roller coaster ride over these 16 years; for a moment it seemed like it was making progress, but then there were spectacular crashes,” said Gibrán Araige, a journalist who has adopted El Tri through a number of World Cup cycles.

Mexico’s Raúl Jiménez celebrates with teammates after scoring against Serbia during a pleasant at Nemesio Diez Stadium on June 4 in Toluca, Mexico.

(Agustin Cuevas / Getty Images)

For Araige, the extent of the 2010 squad is comparable to the current one, with gamers who will not be yet established but have stable European expertise.

Of the 26 gamers called up by Aguirre, 10 play in Europe, but few play for elite golf equipment or get important taking part in time on their groups, principally hampered by accidents, as is the case with Santi Giménez (AC Milan, Italy), César Huerta (Anderlecht, Belgium), Luis Chávez (Dinamo, Russia) and Edson Álvarez (Fenerbahçe, Turkey).

For its half, South Africa has not made important progress since 2010.

After being eradicated in the group stage, ending behind Uruguay and Mexico in a match held in its own nation, it grew to become the first host nation in a World Cup to fail to advance past that stage — a document that Qatar matched in 2022.

Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the next three World Cups. In fact, this is the first time they’ve certified since 2002, as they didn’t have to qualify in 2010, having hosted the match.

They had been eradicated as group runners-up behind Ethiopia on the highway to Brazil in 2014, they completed last in their group on the highway to Russia in 2018 and completed second behind Ghana in the qualifiers for Qatar in 2022.

South African gamers run during a World Cup training session at Estadio Hidalgo on June 3 in Pachuca, Mexico.

(Manuel Velasquez / Getty Images)

They have also lacked consistency in the Africa Cup of Nations, lacking the 2012 and 2017 editions.

Broos, who took over as South Africa’s head coach in 2021, sought to instill self-discipline and relied on local expertise, which was very important in securing a spot in this 12 months’s World Cup. During the qualifying spherical, South Africa gained its group by ending forward of Nigeria and superior despite beginning the marketing campaign with a loss due to an ineligible participant used in a match against Lesotho.

Broos faced criticism for strategic errors early on, but in the end constructed a aggressive workforce that achieved historic qualification, aided by 9 direct World Cup spots in the expanded match discipline.

“It’s a truly excellent group of players. We got through a very tough qualifying phase, which I think helped polish the team,” said Mark Gleeson, a journalist specializing in African soccer.

For Gleeson, South Africa missed a major alternative to strengthen its league by failing to retain traders and rich shoppers after the 2010 World Cup and continued to operate in the same method — a pattern mirrored in the league’s stagnation and the shortage of expertise taking part in overseas.

Lwethu Makhanya (Philadelphia Union, USA), Ime Okon (Hannover 96, Germany), Mbekezeli Mbokazi (Chicago Fire, USA), Sphephelo Sithole (CD Tondela, Portugal) and Lyle Foster (Burnley, England) are among the few South African gamers competing overseas for a national workforce reliant on home soccer.

South Africa huddle during a training session at Estadio Hidalgo on June 3 in Pachuca, Mexico.

(Manuel Velasquez / Getty Images)

However, with the World Cup’s new 48-team format, the duty of advancing proved less daunting for groups in the qualifying part and at the World Cup, there’ll also be more alternatives to advance past the group stage because the best third-place finishers transfer on. That math may benefit South Africa even if it loses its opening match.

Should Bafana Bafana lose to Mexico, they’d have to beat the Czech Republic in their second match on June 18 in Atlanta and would probably play for qualification on June 24 against South Korea in Monterrey.

“The Czechs are among the weakest in Europe, and there’s a good chance of beating them. Furthermore, South Korea is well below its own historical standards, as was evident in March with very poor results in high-pressure matches,” Gleeson said.

To put together for the altitude in Mexico City, Broos, a former Belgian participant who competed in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, introduced his workforce in early and, beginning May 30, held training camp in Pachuca, a metropolis at larger in elevation than the capital. Several of his gamers are already accustomed to some altitude from taking part in for golf equipment in Johannesburg, at 5,751 toes.

“South Africa has a chance; we can compete,” Tshabalala said in an interview after the draw. “I think the pressure will be on Mexico because they’re the hosts. That gives us a real opportunity to pull off an upset.”

A scoreless draw against Nicaragua in Johannesburg days before the World Cup isn’t precisely encouraging, but it also matches with the workforce’s expectations and the mindset of “having everything to gain and little to lose.”

“We have to enjoy it, and when you enjoy something, you can achieve great things,” said Broos.