Mexico City to host opening match of World Cup 2026 at Estadio Azteca
Historic Mexico City Stadium to open record 104-match World Cup in 2026
MEXICO CITY: Hosts Mexico will open the biggest-ever edition of the World Cup on 11 June 2026 with the first of 104 matches which will be staged in 16 locations across three countries.
Mexico City Stadium has been confirmed as the venue for the opening fixture of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Thursday, 11 June 2026, becoming the first stadium to host three FIFA World Cup opening matches.
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The full match schedule for the biggest-ever FIFA World Cup has now been unveiled, giving the framework for the 104-game tournament featuring 48 teams across 16 host cities in three countries – Canada, Mexico and the United States.
LOCATION, CAPACITY, ELEVATION: The Estadio Azteca, home to the storied Club America, has hosted two World Cup finals before. Officially known as Estadio Banorte, the stadium is a football stadium located in Coyoacán, Mexico City. It is the official home of football team Club América, as well as the Mexico national team. The stadium sits at an altitude of 2,200 m (7,200 feet) above sea level. With a capacity of 87,523, it is the largest stadium in Latin America and the eighth-largest association football stadium in the world.
Hosts Mexico will have the honour of getting the tournament under way in their capital city, kicking off proceedings in the historic venue which hosted the World Cup finals and opening games of 1970 and 1986.
Mexico will play all three of their group fixtures on home soil, with Estadio Guadalajara hosting their second game on Thursday, 18 June before a return to Mexico City Stadium on Wednesday, 24 June for their final group match.
The venue will stage the Group K contest between Uzbekistan and Colombia, before one match in both the Round of 32 and Round of 16.
A true coliseum of world football and the first to host a third FIFA World Cup, Mexico City Stadium - which welcomed the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona across two pulsating World Cup finals in 1970 and 1986 - will once again take centre stage.
