The eagerly anticipated 2026 World Cup curtain-raiser takes place on Thursday night, with Mexico taking on South Africa.
Both sides will compete in Group A, sharing the section with South Korea and Czechia.
Mexico have the benefit of playing all three of their group stage matches at home and will be eager to capitalise on that advantage.
Confidence should be high in the Mexico camp after extending their unbeaten streak to eight matches with an emphatic 5-1 friendly victory over Serbia last week.
For South Africa, this is their first taste of World Cup action since they welcomed the tournament to their shores in 2010.
Hugo Broos' men have struggled for momentum since securing qualification, suffering a round of 16 exit at the Africa Cup of Nations and failing to win any of their next four friendly matches.
How the bookies view it: Mexico massive favourites
Given that Mexico are expected to have the majority of the crowd behind them on Thursday night, it is no surprise to see the co-hosts as short-priced 21/50 favourites with bet365.
South Africa are as big as 13/2 with bet365 to spring a shock, with the draw an unfancied 7/2 with the same firm.
Head to head: Another stalemate to kick off the World Cup?
Somewhat ironically, the last meeting between these two sides came in the opening game of the 2010 World Cup, which finished 1-1. A repeat of that scoreline on Thursday night is priced at 8/1 with bet365.
Players to watch: More joy for Jimenez?
With an impressive return of 11 goals in his last 18 appearances for Mexico, Raul Jimenez stands out to open his World Cup 2026 account at the first time of asking at 6/5 with bet365.
Teboho Mokoena is expected to be right in the thick of the midfield battle, with the South African ace offering value for two or more tackles at 6/5 with bet365.
Predicted line-ups
Injury has denied Mexico the services of Luis Angel Malagon and Marcel Ruiz for the World Cup.
Aubrey Modiba is likely to be available for South Africa after recovering from a knock, while Mohau Nkota and Thapelo Morena have been ruled out of the tournament.
Mexico: Ochoa; Sanchez, Montes, Alvarez, Gallardo; Gutierrez, Fidalgo, Pineda; Alvarado, Jimenez, Quinones
South Africa: Williams; Mudau, Mbokazi, Okon, Modiba; Mbatha, Sithole, Mokoena; Appollis, Foster, Moremi
Anything else catch the eye?
With Mexico too short to back at the aforementioned odds, I’m instead turning to the Bet Builder market to boost the price.
Combining a Mexico win with over three Mexico corners lifts the odds to 4/5 with bet365.
This selection has landed in each of El Tri’s last four victories, so the same angle looks worth siding with in Mexico City on Thursday night.
GambleAware