MEXICO CITY — Mexico usually hits a wall when it plays on the opening day of the World Cup.
Of the seven previous occurrences, El Tri’s record is five losses and two draws. Mexico gets another shot Thursday, when it faces South Africa in Mexico City to kick off the 48-team tournament it is co-hosting with Canada and the United States.
“We must break that trend,” coach Javier Aguirre said during a news conference Wednesday at Estadio Azteca.
“I did not know about that,” he said of the winless sequence, “but I’ll mention it to the guys. It’s a good reason to tell them we need to go out there and win the match. Let’s hope we break that trend tomorrow.”
Thursday’s game is a rematch of the 2010 World Cup opener in South Africa. That game ended in a 1-1 draw in Johannesburg.
Aguirre, 67, who is in his third stint as head coach of Mexico’s men’s soccer team, has El Tri playing its best in years and riding a seven-game unbeaten streak. The team’s most recent loss was to Paraguay in November.
“It could be a great day for us; come what may, it will be a celebration that endures for decades,” said Aguirre, who played for Mexico at the 1986 World Cup on home soil — when the Mexican squad didn’t contest the tournament opener but did reach the quarterfinals.
“I hope we get off on the right foot, just as we did back then. The players know it: Tomorrow could be a historic day for many of them, as it is unlikely these guys will ever experience a World Cup on home soil again.”
Mexico lost its opening day games in 1930, 1950, 1954, 1958 and 1962 and had draws in 1970 — at home — and 2010, Aguirre’s second World Cup as coach (his first was in 2002).
Some of those tournaments had games kicking off simultaneously on opening day, such as in Uruguay in 1930, when France beat Mexico 4-1 while the U.S. defeated Belgium 3-0.
At the 1986 World Cup, reigning champion Italy played the tournament opener against Bulgaria, which was a 1-1 draw in Mexico City. The Mexican team played its first game two days later, beating Belgium 2-1.
Aguirre and Hugo Broos, a former defender who is now South Africa’s coach, played against each other that day.
“I vividly remember the confidence with which we took the field to face Belgium. We felt certain the match wouldn’t go poorly; we understood the challenge Belgium posed, and the South Africa coach — who played in that match — learned from that experience,” Aguirre said.
Broos, who was appointed to his current role in May 2021, has South Africa at its first World Cup in 16 years and also helped the team to a third-place finish at the 2023 African Cup of Nations.
“For sure it is big challenge, to play in front of 87,000 Mexicans, but I will tell the players to focus on the match,” Broos said, adding of the home fans: “The Mexicans at the stadium do not play, they just shout and sing and dance. We have to focus on the game; if we can do that and not be bothered by the noise of the Mexicans, we can have a good game tomorrow.”
After losing to Mexico in 1986, Broos and Belgium rallied to reach the semifinals. Mexico lost to Germany on penalty kicks in the round of 16.
“We don’t have the pressure that belongs to the host,” Broos said. “We are prepared very well for tomorrow’s match.”