After years of preparation, a large-scale World Cup has finally arrived.
This year's tournament — hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico — has been expanded to 48 teams that will compete in 16 stadiums in a record 104 matches, spread over the 39 days of the competition.
Mexico will kick off the World Cup on Thursday and will be the overwhelming favorite when they host South Africa in Mexico City. The second match of the day will see South Korea take on the Czech Republic in Guadalajara, Mexico. All four teams are in Group A.
Canada and the United States will play their first games on Friday. The Canadians will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, while the Americans will take on Paraguay in Inglewood, California.
Don't miss it on June 11th
Fox is the exclusive broadcaster of the World Cup in the United States: all 104 matches will be broadcast in English on Fox or FS1. All matches are also available on the Fox One app. Telemundo and Universo will broadcast all matches in Spanish. Peacock is the streaming platform dedicated to Spanish-language broadcasts, while Telemundo also offers an app that includes all matches.
1. Mexico - South Africa, 3 p.m. (Eastern Time) in Mexico City (FOX/Telemundo/Peacock)
2. South Korea – Czech Republic, 10 p.m. (Eastern Time) in Guadalajara, Mexico (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)
Mexico are the overwhelming favorites against South Africa
Fueled by their home crowd, Mexico hopes to improve on their performance in this World Cup compared to 2022, when they failed to advance from the group stage for the first time since 1978. "El Tri" will be led by veteran Raúl Jiménez and 17-year-old midfielder Gilberto Mora. Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa will be making his sixth World Cup appearance, a record. South Africa is competing in its fourth World Cup and its first since hosting the tournament in 2010.
The matches in Mexico will take place at high altitude. Mexico City's Azteca stadium is at approximately 2,200 meters above sea level, while Guadalajara's is located at 1,560 meters, meaning that visiting teams will have to adapt considerably to the altitude.
South Korea hopes to capitalize on its success against the Czech Republic at the 2022 World Cup.
South Korea is one of the best teams in Asia and has qualified for 11 consecutive tournaments since 1986. The Koreans reached the round of 16 in 2022 before losing to Brazil. Son Hueng-min, 33, is the captain and could be playing in his last World Cup. The Czech Republic is making its return to the biggest football competition for the first time in 20 years.
Exorbitant prices that cause outrage
FIFA has faced criticism over exorbitant World Cup ticket prices and business practices that fans say have forced them to accept less favorable conditions than they would have preferred.
The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey, where eight World Cup matches, including the final, will be held, announced last month that they were investigating whether FIFA's ticketing practices had violated consumer protection laws.
Some tickets for the July 19 final are selling for nearly $33,000.
In the United States, skepticism from both sides towards Infantino and FIFA
In a country as deeply divided as the United States, few things manage to unite elected leaders outside the White House as much as skepticism towards Gianni Infantino and FIFA, the governing body of the world's most popular sport.
It is a feeling that transcends divisions and extends from Washington to state capitals and city halls.
Mayors like Zohran Mamdani of New York and Karen Bass of Los Angeles, both Democrats, have criticized the ticket prices. Republican Senator Todd Young of Indiana, who played Division I football at the U.S. Naval Academy, said FIFA was "out of touch with ordinary people around the world."
