WORLD CUP 2026 OPENER: The Ultra previews MEXICO v SOUTH AFRICA with a recommended BETDAQ bet on the eagerly awaited opener.
🏆 World Cup 2026 🏆
🇲🇽 Mexico v South Africa 🇿🇦
8pm The wait is finally over! After all the build-up, all the talk and all the controversy, the 2026 World Cup gets underway on Thursday night on WORLD CUP 2026 Betdaq Betting Exchange! Mexico host South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City to bring the curtain up on the tournament, and the famous old ground becomes the first stadium in history to stage three World Cup openers. As co-hosts, Mexico get the honour of kicking the whole thing off in front of their own fans, and you can be certain the Azteca (pictured below) will be an absolute cauldron. It’s no surprise that Mexico come into the game as the odds on favourites – they are trading 1.43 with South Africa 10.0 and the draw is 4.8 at the time of writing.
You’d have to say this is a superb opening game for Mexico – they are on home soil, against the side most people have pencilled in to finish bottom of Group A. I have a feeling most of the talk heading into the opening game will be around off-field matters. For all the noise about a multi-billion dollar summer, the tournament arrives under a real cloud of negativity. FIFA themselves cancelled tens of thousands of reserved hotel rooms across the host cities, and the American Hotel And Lodging Association reported that around 80% of hoteliers are tracking below their projections. . Ticket prices have started tumbling on the resale markets, there have been boycott calls from fans and politicians, and visa and travel concerns have kept plenty of international supporters at home. While parts of the United States fret over empty rooms, the stadium will be jammed to the rafters for this game. If you want a reminder of why this tournament still matters, it’s probably best to just focus with what happens on the pitch rather than all the drama off of it.
WORLD CUP 2026 Betdaq Betting Exchange!
These two have history in this exact fixture. South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup opener against Mexico! Obviously co-hosting is a massive advantage for Mexico this time around – they are trading as the odds on favourites to top Group A. Play all three group games at home, is an enormous advantage when you factor in the Mexico City altitude doing plenty of the heavy lifting for them. They do have some injury worries though, and I wouldn’t be rushing to take the 1.43 – it doesn’t exactly jump off the page as massive value right at the start of the tournament. Obviously you have all the pressure of it being the opening game for the tournament co-hosts too; I expect Mexico to win but I’m happy to look around the side markets here and skip the match odds market.
Opening games of major tournaments are notoriously cagey and nervy affairs. South Africa will park the bus, defend in numbers and hope for a draw in my opinion. Under 2.5 goals is trading 1.81 and that looks a very nice option to start the tournament. Mexico will be expected to win, but I can’t see them cutting loose and racking up the goals in a tense opener against a side desperate to keep it tight. Also, with South Africa offering so little going forward, I see Mexico having to grind out a win here; I really wouldn’t be surprised to see a 1-0 Mexico win.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.81 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/WCMeSo
