Mexico kicks off a supersized, 48-team tournament
A dancer performs along Reforma Avenue in Mexico City, Saturday, ahead of the FIFA World Cup. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
After years of preparation, a supersized World Cup has finally arrived.
This year’s tournament — which is hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — was expanded to 48 teams that will play in 16 stadiums in a record 104 matches over the 39-day tournament.
Mexico gets the World Cup started today and will be a heavy favorite when it hosts South Africa in Mexico City. The second game of the day will be between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guadalajara, Mexico. All four teams are part of Group A.
Canada and the United States will host their first games Friday. The Canadians will play Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto while the Americans face Paraguay in Inglewood, California.
Fox is the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of the World Cup with all 104 matches in English on Fox or FS1. All matches are also available on the Fox One app. Telemundo and Universo will broadcast all of the matches in Spanish. Peacock is the streaming home for Spanish language broadcasts while Telemundo also has an app that includes all the matches.
Boosted by a home crowd and a star-studded opening ceremony with performances that include Andrea Bocelli and homegrown talent like Alejandro Fernández and Maná, Mexico hopes to play better in this World Cup than in 2022, when it failed to advance out of 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 competing in the World Cup for a record sixth time. South Africa is playing in its fourth World Cup and first since it hosted the tournament in 2010.
The games in Mexico will be played at high elevation. The Azteca stadium in Mexico City is at roughly 7,300 feet while Guadalajara sits at 5,138 feet, meaning visiting teams will have to make a significant adjustment to the altitude.



