{"id":472763,"date":"2026-06-11T22:53:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T22:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/472763\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T22:53:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T22:53:14","slug":"fifa-world-cup-begins-with-spectacular-opening-ceremony-in-mexico-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/472763\/","title":{"rendered":"FIFA World Cup begins with spectacular opening ceremony in Mexico City"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The largest World Cup in tournament history kicks off today with co-host Mexico taking on South Africa in the opening match.<\/p>\n<p>Amid escalating protests and social tensions in Mexico\u2019s capital, more than 80,000 fans were making their way to Mexico City Stadium \u2014 better known as Azteca Stadium. <\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/performers-on-the-pitch-during-the-opening-ceremony-before-t-K3L7NIB5SFCNTPCUHPFEPIZA2U.jpg\" alt=\"Performers on the pitch during the opening ceremony before the start of the World Cup Group A match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" loading=\"eager\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ImageMetadata__MetadataParagraph-sc-hi5x8q-0 cWTYyG image-metadata\">Performers on the pitch during the opening ceremony before the start of the World Cup Group A match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n<p>It got a much-needed facelift ahead of the 48-team tournament that Mexico is hosting alongside the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n<p>A star-studded opening ceremony featuring Shakira, Burna Boy and J Balvin kicked off the 2026 World Cup. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/colombian-singer-j-balvin-performs-before-the-start-of-the-w-KS3HT3AW5VAEVMWSYRAW7TXSDA.jpg\" alt=\"Colombian singer J Balvin performs before the start of the World Cup Group A match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ImageMetadata__MetadataParagraph-sc-hi5x8q-0 cWTYyG image-metadata\">Colombian singer J Balvin performs before the start of the World Cup Group A match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n<p>The iconic venue will be the first stadium to host three World Cup openers \u2014 after doing so in the 1970 and 1986 tournaments.<\/p>\n<p>It is the eighth opening match of a World Cup for the Mexicans, who had previously lost five and drawn the last two, including against South Africa in the 2010 World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>South Africa is playing in its first World Cup since hosting the 2010 tournament. The Bafana Bafana also played in the 1998 and 2002 editions.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/demonstrators-perform-during-a-march-protesting-prior-to-the-KWFR5LEVX5CJZLMVDXSYOCIFBI.jpg\" alt=\"Demonstrators perform during a march protesting prior to the opening day of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ImageMetadata__MetadataParagraph-sc-hi5x8q-0 cWTYyG image-metadata\">Demonstrators perform during a march protesting prior to the opening day of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026.  (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n<p>Mexico arrives with an eight-match unbeaten streak and has not lost since last November, when Paraguay beat them in a friendly.<\/p>\n<p>The Mexican side is led by the 67-year-old coach Javier Aguirre, who is in his third stint with the national team.<\/p>\n<p>Watch all matches at the World Cup with an event pass on TVNZ+ | All Whites games free-to-view on TVNZ1 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvnz.co.nz\/sport\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TVNZ+<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-greyDarkFaded\">The morning&#8217;s headlines in 90 seconds, including Trump flipflops on Iran attack, and a shark attack caught on camera. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The largest World Cup in tournament history kicks off today with co-host Mexico taking on South Africa in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472764,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2966,111,139,64,69,213],"class_list":["post-472763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-north-america","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}