The World Cup is the football party, and that's how it started, with a grand show that captured the world's attention before the ball started rolling with a Mexico-South Africa match, enhancing the legend of the Azteca Stadium, the only one that has hosted three World Cups. "It is blessed by the football gods," said FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Before the players took the stage, the stars did in a ceremony where Shakira shone. For the 80,824 fans with tickets, it was the perfect combo: a concert and a historic match. That's why, up to three hours before the ceremony started, they surrounded the stadium. Some had paid up to 3,000 euros for a seat in the third tier of the stadium.
This time there were no team parades like in '70, nor the exaltation of national folklore seen in '86. It was present on stage, with the golden touch of the Aztecs, and in the stands, but the aim was for an ambitious opening, on a global scale, for the biggest World Cup in history. Shakira achieved that, becoming FIFA's headline artist.
The Colombian was once again chosen, as in South Africa, to perform the official anthem. If back then it was the eternal Waka Waka, now it's Dai Dai, with a similar rhythm and performed alongside Nigerian singer Burna Boy. But before that, Maná opened the show with their Oye mi amor, followed by Danny Ocean with Partidazo, leading to performances by Belinda and Los Ángeles Azules before Colombian reggaeton artist J Balvin pumped up the crowd before Shakira. As the stadium echoed, massive choreographies alluding to the unity of North American peoples appeared, and the players came out to warm up after images of the '86 World Cup with Maradona and Mexico's historic quarter-final qualification, and Pelé in '70 were projected on the huge screens.
When the teams took the field, there were also novelties. For the first time, the teams listened to the national anthems with all 26 players in the center circle. This is one of the changes introduced by FIFA. "It's something Alessandro Del Piero asked me for, and we're going to implement it," explained Infantino. This will be a regular feature in all matches so that players can experience the same sensations: being part of a historic event.
All eyes were also on the stands. There is only one precedent for a World Cup organized by more than one country, which was in 2002 in Korea and Japan. Back then, at the opening ceremony, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was present and spoke, but not Emperor Akihito, as the imperial house had not visited Korea since its independence in 1948. This time, in the first World Cup organized by three countries, neither Donald Trump nor Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were at the Azteca. Not even Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was present, a decision considered unusual.
Months ago, she announced that she would not attend the opening ceremony to fulfill a purpose: to give her ticket, number 0001, to a young fan who couldn't afford to go to the match, "so she can dream about football." They launched a selection process called Road to the 2026 World Cup, and Yollet Cervantes, a 21-year-old from Tlaquilpa (Veracruz) who wants to return to playing football after a serious injury, was chosen. She attended accompanied by her father, Clemente, who sparked her love for football by taking her to a match at the Bernabéu during a trip to Spain. Yollet wanted to use this opportunity to advocate for attention to indigenous communities by wearing a traditional Nahuatl outfit made by artisans from her hometown.
While this was happening at the Azteca, in Zócalo, the central square of the former DF, President Sheinbaum watched the ceremony and Mexico's debut on a giant screen. No one knows what would have happened if she, like her predecessors in 1960 and 1986, had spoken at the ceremony. In 1970, before the Mexico-USSR opener, President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz was booed for repressing student protests. A similar situation occurred in 1986 when President Miguel de la Madrid had to cut his speech short due to jeers.
In recent days, Sheinbaum has seen the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE) take to the streets, supported by groups against the World Cup demanding the search for missing persons. Their intention was to disrupt access. This led to further strengthening of security perimeters, and the Mexico City Government issued warnings to fans to arrive early. Everyone wanted to enjoy the show, do the Mexican wave, and throw a rain of hats from the packed stands.