World Cup 2026 live: Trump ‘set to miss’ USA’s opening game as coach Pochettino addresses co-hosts’ ‘arrogance’ – UK Times

Austria and Morocco have been forced into late squad changes due to injury.

Austria boss Ralf Rangnick has called up Schalke’s Dejan Ljubicic to replace key midfielder Christoph Baumgartner, who was ruled out of the tournament after sustaining a thigh injury before a 1-0 friendly win over Tunisia this month.

Morocco, meanwhile, have lost two of their starters, with Nayef Aguerd and Abde Ezzalzouli replaced in their World Cup squad. Saudi-based defender Marwane Saadane and striker Amine Sbai have been brought in their place.

Here’s a full rundown of every player at the World Cup:

South Africa coach Hugo Broos ​said his side are prepared to face Mexico’s quality and home-crowd advantage in tonight’s World Cup opener, which he deems a must-win.

“They play good football,” Broos told reporters on Wednesday. “They have very good players, players who can decide a match. And playing in front of 85,000 people gives them a boost.

“Because of the altitude, we had to be here a little bit sooner. We had 10 days, and I think 10 days is sufficient. From that side, I think we are ready.”

On sharing a competitive group with Czech Republic and South Korea, as well as Mexico, Broos added: “In a group like this, it is very important to win your first game. If you don’t win, you are already in a difficult position.”

As the 48 teams gradually arrived in North America, every image further setting a grand stage, a thought struck managers like Thomas Tuchel and Carlo Ancelotti.

They were right to make the sheer scale of this World Cup more of a priority in planning. “United 2026” – as it is officially known – is enormous in every sense, from size to serious issues.

That only deepens the distinctive challenge a World Cup poses, and only elevates the meaning of victory.

A team can be brilliant and do everything possible to gear up for a four-year cycle over the long term, but the lifting of that great trophy really comes down to having everything – form, spirit, mood, fitness, tactics – just right for five weeks in one summer.

It’s really about a moment in time, and one that makes you immortal, although this time in a far greater space.

If the classic line is that people measure their lives in World Cups, this one is so immense it’s almost impossible to quantify.

Mexico will get World Cup proceedings underway with their opening ceremony – the first of three held by the host nations – at 6:30pm BST on Thursday 11 June in Mexico City.

Held at Mexico City Stadium, better known worldwide as the Estadio Azteca, the ceremony will take place ahead of the Group A clash between Mexico and South Africa, a repeat of the clash that rose the curtain on the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg.

Additional performers include Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Danny Ocean, J Balvin, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules, Maná, and Tyla.

Here’s everything you need to know about all three World Cup opening ceremonies:

Mexico’s World Cup curtain-raiser against South Africa kicks off at 8pm BST tonight.

Viewers in the UK can watch the game free-to-air on ITV1 with coverage starting at 6:15pm BST. The match can also be streamed on ITVX.

The issues in the US are well-documented but fellow co-host Mexico is also dealing with problems.

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets around the Estadio Azteca in the days leading up to the country’s World Cup opener against South Africa.

There have been ongoing teacher protests in the Mexican capital and, on Tuesday, demonstrations were led by a breakaway group of the CNTE union, demanding a salary raise and the reversal of a pension law.

Then last night, families of “the disappeared” came out to draw attention to the 133,000 missing people in Mexico, with volunteers handing out leaflets concluding with the message: “The cup came back home. When will our loved ones?”

Months before World Cup 2026 got underway, senior figures within Fifa already found the planning hadn’t been going “as expected”. And that’s saying something. When the hosting of Canada-Mexico-USA was confirmed back in 2018, after all, the widespread feeling in football circles was that it was a return to the “familiar”.

Two of the countries had already hosted three of the most successful World Cups of all, and the promise in the bid-book was that this would be “low-risk and operational certainty”. It of course greatly aided such feelings that another promise was about record revenue projections of $14bn.