▲ The opening ceremony of the 2026 World Cup is held at the Mexico City Stadium on June 11 (local time).
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by three nations for the first time in history and expanded to 48 participating countries, has kicked off with a spectacular opening ceremony in Mexico City.
The World Cup entered a month of intense competition, running until July 20, starting with the Group A opening match between host nation Mexico and South Africa at the Mexico City Stadium today (June 12).
Prior to the match, which kicked off at 4:05 a.m. Korean time, the opening ceremony, including celebratory performances, began around 2:40 a.m.
At the center of the pitch, the national flags of the 48 participating countries entered one by one and surrounded the center circle.
As the flags entered according to their group stage groupings, South Korea's Taegeukgi, in Group A, entered second, following South Africa.
The flags of co-hosts Mexico, Canada, and the United States entered side-by-side at the end, with the flag of Mexico, playing in the opening match, standing 48th in the center circle.
During the opening performance, singer-songwriter EJAE, who rose to global stardom through the Netflix animation 'K-Pop: Demon Hunters,' sang the World Cup theme song 'DNA' alongside world-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli.
A variety of performances followed, including 'Queen of Latin Pop' Shakira, who has a deep connection with the World Cup and various football tournaments, performing another tournament theme song, 'Dai Dai,' alongside hip-hop artist Burna Boy.
With the 80,824-seat 'Azteca,' the sacred ground of Mexican football, packed to capacity, Mexican home fans performed a wave ahead of kickoff, signaling the start of the football festival.
Just before the match began, spectators created a spectacular scene by simultaneously throwing paper shaped like the traditional 'sombrero' hat.
Since the tournament is co-hosted by three countries, the opening ceremonies will also be held three times, taking turns in each nation.
The curtain rose in Mexico City on this day, and Canada's opening ceremony will follow tomorrow at 4:00 a.m. ahead of the Group B opening match between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina at Toronto Stadium.
Following that, the U.S. opening ceremony will take place at Los Angeles Stadium tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., ahead of the first Group D match between the United States and Paraguay.
In previous tournaments, which featured 32 participating countries, the group stage consisted of eight groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the round of 16 to compete in a knockout tournament. However, in this tournament, the total number of matches has significantly increased from 64 to 104, and the format has also changed slightly.
After the group stage, which features 12 groups of four countries (Groups A to L), the top two teams from each group (24 teams) and the eight best third-placed teams will advance to a 'Round of 32' knockout stage.
This adds one more single-elimination match to the tournament.
This tournament opens amid ongoing controversies over 'politicization' under the influence of U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as criticism of excessive commercialism resulting from its massive expansion.
At an opening press conference held in Mexico City the previous day, FIFA President Infantino defended against various controversies and appealed that it is now time to focus on the games.
South Korea, boasting its 11th consecutive World Cup appearance, is dreaming of reaching the round of 16 or beyond in an away tournament, following its success at the 2022 Qatar tournament.
South Korea, placed in Group A alongside host nation Mexico, the Czech Republic, and South Africa, will play its fateful opening match against European dark horse Czech Republic at the Guadalajara Stadium in Mexico at 11:00 a.m. today (June 12).
The national team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will clash with Mexico in Guadalajara at 10:00 a.m. on June 19, and will play its third match against South Africa in Monterrey, Mexico, at 10:00 a.m. on June 25.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.