1994 was the first World Cup I was old enough to truly follow — a treasured family heirloom is the commemorative Italia 1990 Coca-Cola can my mother brought back from her visit to Venice that summer, but I was like eight at the time and have no real memory of that tournament.
But ‘94 was a different animal. From Germany’s opening day struggles against Bolivia, to the oppressive heat of Dallas and the like, to Rashid Yekini’s celebration, to Bulgaria’s magic run, to Hagi’s grandeur, to Bebeto’s baby-rocking
celebration, to Roberto Baggio’s ponytail and of course penalty miss, to many many more … it’s all still very much etched in my brain.
So you would think I’d be absolutely ecstatic that a World Cup is now happening in my backyard (sort of). Having only ever been to one in person (Germany 2006), I’m strangely ambivalent to this one. It’s probably all the political nonsense surrounding it, or the outrageous prices … not to mention the dilution of the occasion with this expanded field. I’ll still be going to at least one game, USA against Australia next week, and maybe others if prices do drop.
Presumably the football itself will shine through in the end.
And we certainly begin in iconic surroundings, at the famous Azteca in Mexico City, site of Pele’s 1970 masterclass and Maradona’s 1986 legend (scoring the Hand of God and The Goal of the Century four minutes apart against England). Mexico are the first nation to host the World Cup three times (even if they’re only doing a portion of it this time around).
Who will create their legend and etch their names forever into history this time around?
MEXICO vs. SOUTH AFRICA
It’s tradition for the host nation to open, and this one actually pits two former host nations against each other. Mexico will be expected to perform for the home crowd and come out on top of Group A.
Date / Time: Thursday, June 12, 2026, 3pm EDT; 8pm BST
Venue: Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)
On TV: FOX, Telemundo (USA); ITV 1 (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Tubi, Peacock (USA); ITVx (UK)
Chelsea interest: Neither team have any current of former Chelsea players. The only Mexico national to ever sign for Chelsea was Ulises Dávila, though we never actually saw him. He’s now retired, as is South Africa’s Pierre Issa, who spent six months on loan at Chelsea back in 2001 without playing a single competitive minute.
There’s a ton of experience in Javier Aguirre’s squad, including a 40-year-old goalkeeper Memo Ochoa with his 152 caps and veteran striker Raúl Jiménez of Fulham, who will be expected to provide the goals. Captain Edson Álvarez once very nearly became a Chelsea player; he didn’t and that left a sour taste in his mouth. He would eventually come to the Premier League and play for West Ham (making his debut against us, of all teams), though he spent last season on loan at Fenerbahçe instead.
For Bafana Bafana, only a handful of players ply their trade outside of South Africa and this is their first World Cup since hosting in 2010. They were third at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations but had a disappointing showing earlier this year, exiting in the Round of 16. Is there another Tshabalala amongst them?
SOUTH KOREA vs. CZECH REPUBLIC
Another former host nation, taking on the country that wants to be called Czechia these days. Well I refuse!
Date / Time: Thursday, June 12, 2026, 10pm EDT; 3am BST
Venue: Estadio Chivas, Guadalajara, Mexico
Referee: Amin Omar (Egypt)
On TV: FOX Sports 1, Telemundo (USA); BBC One (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); BBC iPlayer (UK)
Chelsea interest: No current or former players here either; Tomáš Kalas hasn’t played for the Czechs since 2021 and we’ve never had a Korean player at Chelsea.
Korea come in with some pretty high expectations after an unbeaten run through the qualifiers, even if Son Heung-min has gone to MLS to retire in style and comfort. It’s much easier to like him now, post-Spurs. There’s a good mix of youth and experience in the team, with the vast majority plying their trade in Europe, many at the highest levels (including Lee Kang-in at PSG and Kim Min-jae at Bayern). They’ve not won more than one game at any World Cup since the one they co-hosted in 2002 however.
For the divorced half of my motherland, this is the first World Cup since 2006, which I remember ending in severe disappointment amid the swan song of Pavel Nedvěd, one of my all-time favorites. Stood at some random fan fest in Germany that summer in the sweltering heat only to watch them lose to Ghana and Italy and fail to make it out of the group stage. Those late ‘90s, early ‘00s Czech teams were something else — ranked 2nd by FIFA coming into the 2006 tournament — but success on the biggest stage eluded them despite some epic Euros runs (2nd in 1996, 3rd in 2004). The current team is very much a shadow of those legends, but Patrick Schick was top scorer at Euro 2020 once so maybe he can conjure up some old magic.
