The History Of Mexico's Opening-Day World Cup Curse

Mexico usually hits a wall when it plays on the opening day of the World Cup.

Of the seven previous occurrences, El Tri's record is five losses and two draws. Mexico gets another shot Thursday when it hosts South Africa to kick off the 48-team tournament.

"We must break that trend," coach Javier Aguirre told a news conference Wednesday at the Azteca stadium.

"I did not know about that," he said of the winless sequence, "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 game is a rematch of the 2010 World Cup opener in South Africa. That game ended in a 1-1 draw at Johannesburg.

Aguirre, who is in his third stint as Mexico manager, has the team playing its best football in years and riding a seven-game unbeaten streak. El Tri’s last loss was against Paraguay in November.

"It could be a great day for us; come what may, it will be a celebration that endures for decades," said Aguirre, who played for Mexico at the 1986 World Cup on home soil — when the Mexican squad didn't contest the tournament opener but did reach the quarterfinals.

"I hope we get off on the right foot, just as we did back then," he added. "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."

Mexico lost its opening-day games in 1930, 1950, 1954, 1958 and 1962 and had draws in 1970 — at home — and 2010.

Some of those tournaments had games kicking off simultaneously on opening day, such as Uruguay in 1930 when France beat Mexico 4–1 while the United States defeated Belgium 3–0.

At the 1986 World Cup, defending champion Italy played the tournament opener against Bulgaria — a 1-1 draw in Mexico City. The Mexican team played its first group-stage game two days later and had a 2-1 win over Belgium.

Aguirre and Hugo Broos, an ex-Belgium international who is now South Africa coach, played against each other that day.

"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," Aguirre added.

Broos, who was appointment in May 2021, has South Africa to its first FIFA World Cup in 16 years and also secured a third-place finish at the 2023 African Cup of Nations.

"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."

After losing to Mexico in 1986, Broos and Belgium rallied to reach the semifinals. Mexico lost to Germany on penalty kicks in the round of 16.

"We don’t have the pressure that belongs to the host," Broos said. "We are prepared very well for tomorrow’s match."

Reporting by The Associated Press.