By Dylan Bettencourt
- Bafana Bafana will play Mexico in the opening 2026 Fifa World Cup match at the Azteca Stadium on 11 June.
- Mexico beat Serbia 5-1 in a final warm-up match before facing Bafana Bafana at the Fifa World Cup opening game.
Mexico coach Javier Aguirre warns that Bafana Bafana will not be easy to beat when the two sides meet. The teams play in the opening match of the 2026 Fifa World Cup at the Azteca Stadium on 11 June.
Aguirre knows Bafana Bafana well. He was the coach of Egypt in 2019 when Bafana Bafana shocked the Pharaohs in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations. The match took place at the Cairo International Stadium.
Stuart Baxter coached Bafana Bafana at the time and the team stunned the hosts 1-0. Thembinkosi Lorch scored in the 85th minute.
Aguirre told reporters that South Africa did well and beat him in the African Cup. He said they are a fierce team. He said they do not have a purely African style but mix it with European football.
Aguirre said he has the utmost respect for them and knows it will not be easy.
Mexico beat Serbia 5-1 in Toluca in their final warm-up match before taking on Bafana Bafana.
Bafana Bafana will go into the World Cup opener knowing the Mexico coach still remembers the pain they caused him in Egypt.
Pictured above: Bafana Bafana players.
Image source: File
