Mexico handed perfect FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw | OneFootball

Mexico, Canada and the United States will share responsibilities for hosting next summer’s FIFA World Cup, with the official group stage draw taking place last Friday.

All three nations were placed in Pot 1 for the draw, alongside former World Cup winners France, Argentina and Germany, as well as other major sides such as Spain and England. By steering clear of the tournament’s biggest nations, all three sides were guaranteed intriguing matchups, ones they could realistically feel confident about navigating.

Let’s take a look at all the teams Mexico will face in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group Stages:

South Africa

A draw for the football purists, as Mexico and South Africa will meet again for a replay of their 2010 World Cup opening match, where the sides were held to a 1-1 draw.

Meeting at the infamous Estadio Azteca on Thursday, 11th June 2026 (14:00 CST), Mexico will meet a South Africa side that is taking part in its first World Cup since hosting the competition 15 years ago.

South Korea

Mexico met South Korea as recently as September, where the sides settled for a 2-2 draw, with El Trí saved by a late goal from Santiago Giménez. This will be a difficult match for Javier Aguirre and his men, facing a side that has reached every World Cup since the first-ever edition held in Mexico, back in 1986. However, South Korea have only gone past the group stages three times in those 10 events.

The game will take place on Thursday, 18th June 2026 (20:00 CST), at the home of Chivas, the Estadio Akron.

Denmark, North Macedonia, Czechia, Republic of Ireland

Mexico’s final group stage opponent is yet to be decided, with one of four nations set to claim the final spot next year when they compete in a World Cup playoff.

Favourites to head to North America next summer are FIFA World-ranked 21st Denmark. The Scandinavians boast a strong lineup, with the likes of Napoli’s Rasmus Højlund, Marseille’s pair of Matt O’Reilly and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and the Barcelona defender Andres Christensen.

Chasing a first World Cup berth since 2002, the Republic of Ireland forced their way into the playoffs by scoring late in the first final qualification match with Hungary and will be hoping for some more heroics as they aim for only a fourth-ever World Cup appearance.

North Macedonia will be considered the underdogs of this playoff bracket, as the lowest-ranked side (61st), they will be hoping for things to go their way if they are to come out on top.

Czechia are a regular feature in the European Champions, but has gone 19 years without an appearance on the world’s biggest stage. Pipped to a World Cup automatic position by Croatia, Czechia have the likes of West Ham United’s Tomáš Souček, along with German Bundesliga champion Patrik Schick, the only two in the national team to have scored more than 10 goals, to lead the line, whilst hoping that their squad can come together to create something special to reach the World Cup finals.

The final group stage game for Mexico will take place on Wednesday, 24th June 2026 (20:00 CST) at the Estadio Azteca.