Sports fans around the world are eagerly anticipating the launch of the 2026 World Cup, in a renewed edition described as the largest and most massive since the start of the tournament in 1930. With each edition of the World Cup, attention turns to specific confrontations, whether those that bring together the major teams or that put the Arab teams to the test against different football schools from different parts of the world.
Throughout the history of the World Cup, successive editions have produced a great momentum of immortal matches and moments, and the tournament has also recorded many surprises that have made each edition comparable to its predecessors. The lottery often produces confrontations with special historical dimensions, evoking old memories and reopening pages that were not completely closed in the memory of the masses.
What is striking about the 2026 World Cup is that it will bring back to the forefront a number of historical events and recurring confrontations that carry within them a lot of symbolism, whether through reproducing famous matches or through meetings that evoke files that have remained present in football memory for many decades.
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A repeat opening in the 2026 World Cup
The 2026 World Cup will open with a match between Mexico and South Africa on June 11, 2026, in a match that appears to be an exact copy of the opening match of the 2010 World Cup, which also brought together the two teams in Johannesburg on the same date, June 11.
The opening match of the 2010 World Cup witnessed one of the most exciting opening matches in the history of the tournament. The Mexican team was the first to score, but the referee canceled the goal due to offside, before the hosts opened the scoring in the 55th minute through Siphiwe Tshabalala, who fired a powerful shot with his left foot that landed in the top corner of the goal, benefiting from a perfect pass from his teammate Kagiso Dikgakwe.
Mexican national team captain Rafael Marquez succeeded in equalizing in the 79th minute following a corner kick, when he followed the ball from close range inside the penalty area.
The South African national team almost snatched the victory in the final minutes, but Katlego Mvila’s shot rebounded off the post, ending the match in a 1-1 draw, in a result that many considered fair given the course of the match.
The draw prevented the South African team from achieving a historic victory that would have given it a strong boost in its journey towards qualifying for the second round, an achievement that was not achieved in the end.
After 16 years of that confrontation, the opportunity appears to be available for the “Bafana Bafana” team to present a different image than was the case in 2010, especially in light of the development that South African football has witnessed in recent years at the club and national team levels. The latest manifestation of this development was the crowning of Mamelodi Sundowns with the African Champions League title, which reflects the improvement witnessed in South African football and gives the team additional hopes of achieving a positive result against the hosts.
On the other hand, the Mexican national team enters the match based on the factors of the field and the crowd and on a positive record in the opening matches of the versions of the World Cup that it hosted.
In the 1970 World Cup, the Mexican national team tied 0-0 against the Soviet Union at the Azteca Stadium, before beginning the 1986 edition with a 2-1 victory over Belgium at the same stadium. The historic Azteca Stadium will also be the stage for the confrontation between Mexico and South Africa at the opening of the 2026 edition.
As for the South African national team, it has never achieved a victory in any opening match during its participation in the World Cup, as it lost to France 3-0 in the 1998 edition during its first participation in the tournament, before drawing 2-2 with Paraguay in the 2002 World Cup, then drawing 1-1 with Mexico in the opening of the 2010 edition.
Algeria and Morocco are an opportunity to “settle scores”
The 2026 World Cup draw presented Algeria and Morocco with two confrontations carrying special historical dimensions, against Austria and Brazil, respectively, in a repeat of stories that have remained ingrained in the memory of the fans of the two countries.
- Algeria and Austria…the memory of Gijon returns after 44 years
The Algerian national team will find itself again facing Austria, 44 years after the events of the famous “Gijon scandal” that took place in the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
In that edition, Algeria achieved one of the greatest Arab and African achievements in the World Cup when it defeated the European champion at the time, West Germany, with a score of 2-1 in a match later described as the “Gijon Epic.”
In the first round of the group, Austria defeated Chile 1-0, before defeating Algeria with a score of 2-0 in the second round, which also witnessed West Germany defeating Chile with a score of 4-1.
In the third and final round, Algeria achieved a dramatic victory over Chile with a score of 3-2, raising its score to four points according to the system adopted at the time, which awarded two points for a win.
After the Algeria-Chile match ended, all eyes were on the final confrontation between West Germany and Austria. However, the two teams played one of the most controversial matches in the history of the World Cup, after they settled for a score of 1-0 in favor of West Germany, a result that guaranteed their qualification together to the next round and eliminated Algeria despite its distinguished results.
That match sparked a wide wave of criticism, before the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) later decided to hold the matches of the final round of the group stage at the same time, a system that is still in effect today.
After more than four decades, Austria returns to intersect with Algeria in the same group that also includes Argentina, the World Cup holder, and the Jordanian national team.
The Algerian and Austrian teams will meet on June 27 in Kansas City, USA, in the third and final round of the group stage, in a match that may be decisive in determining the identity of one of the qualifiers to the round of 32.
Despite the difference in generations and circumstances, the memory of Gijon will remain present in the minds of the Algerian fans, which gives the confrontation an additional historical dimension that goes beyond the limits of the usual sporting competition.
- Morocco and Brazil…a story dating back to France 1998
In the same way, the confrontation between Morocco and Brazil brings to mind one of the most controversial moments in the history of the “Atlas Lions” participation in the World Cup.
In the 1998 World Cup in France, the first group included the teams of Morocco, Brazil, Norway and Scotland.
The Moroccan national team began its campaign with an exciting draw against Norway, 2-2, before losing to Brazil, 3-0, in the second round.
Brazil defeated Scotland in the first round, which ensured its early qualification to the second round.
In the last round, Morocco achieved a major victory over Scotland with a score of 3-0, and needed Norway to stumble against Brazil in order to qualify.
However, the Norwegian team surprised everyone by defeating Brazil with a score of 2-1, despite the participation of a large number of Seleção stars in the match, including Ronaldo, Cafu, Taffarel, Dunga, Rivaldo and Bebeto.
This result sparked a lot of controversy at the time, especially since Brazil had previously guaranteed qualification and was the most prominent candidate to win the match.
Thanks to that victory, Norway finished the first round in second place with five points from a win and two draws, while Morocco left the tournament despite its great victory over Scotland.
Today, 28 years after those events, the Moroccan national team is preparing to face Brazil for the second time in the history of the World Cup.
The match, scheduled for June 13 at MetLife Stadium, will be a new opportunity for the fourth World Cup in 2022 to recall those memories and try to achieve a historic result against one of the teams most crowned with the world title.
Repeated confrontations…with a revenge nature
The recurring confrontations in the group stage are not limited to Algeria and Austria or Morocco and Brazil, as meetings with France and Senegal, England and Croatia, Germany and Ecuador also stand out, as well as the confrontations of Scotland with Morocco and Brazil, and Mexico with South Korea.
- France and Senegal… from Bouba Diop to Sadio Mane
The confrontation between France and Senegal remains one of the most memorable World Cup matches, after the Senegalese team, led by El Hadji Diouf, achieved one of the biggest surprises of the 2002 World Cup.
In the opening match of the tournament, the “Lions of Teranga” defeated defending champions France with a clean goal scored by Bouba Diop, in a result that shocked the football world at the time.
The repercussions of that loss did not stop at the first match, as it contributed greatly to France’s exit from the first round, while Senegal qualified for the knockout rounds in its first participation in the history of the tournament.
The 2026 World Cup draw will put the two teams face to face again, as they will meet on June 16 in the first round of the group stage.
The French team enters the confrontation and is one of the most prominent candidates to win the title, after winning the 2018 World Cup and reaching the final of the 2022 edition, while the Senegalese team, led by Sadio Mane, aspires to restore memories of the 2002 achievement and add a new page to its World Cup history.
- England and Croatia…bringing back memories of the 2018 semi-finals
The confrontation between England and Croatia tops the matches in Group Twelve, as the two teams meet on June 17 in the opening of the group matches.
The match carries memories of the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when Croatia, led by Luka Modric, succeeded in overturning a deficit against England to win, giving it a ticket to the final for the first time in its history.
The England national team enters the current edition with a generation described as among the best in its recent history, led by Harry Kane, in addition to German coach Thomas Tuchel.
The “Three Lions” also benefit from the momentum achieved by English clubs on the continent this season, after Crystal Palace won the European Conference League title (UEFA Conference League), Aston Villa won the European League title (UEFA Europa League), while Arsenal reached the final of the Champions League (UEFA Champions League).
On the other hand, the Croatian national team is no longer as strong as it appeared in the 2018 World Cup, especially with the aging of a number of the stars of its golden generation and the retirement of some players, which makes the confrontation open to various possibilities.
Possible repetition of previous scenarios
The tournament also witnesses the replay of a number of matches that were previously held in previous editions of the World Cup.
In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, he met The German and Ecuadorian national teams Within the first group, Germany won 3-0 that day, thanks to two goals by Miroslav Klose and a goal by Lukas Podolski, in the third and final round of the group stage.
The irony is that the two teams will meet again on June 25, 2026, in the third and final round of Group Five.
As usual Scotland to face Morocco and Brazil 28 years after the 1998 World Cup, where it lost to the national teams in that edition.
On June 19, Scotland faces the Moroccan team, before meeting Brazil on the 24th of the same month, in two matches that bring back memories of France 1998.
As for Mexico and South KoreaThey met on June 13, 1998 in the group stage, and Mexico won 3-1 at that time.
The meeting between the two teams will be renewed in the Mexican city of Zapopan in the second round of Group A, in a match that appears open to all possibilities, with a relative advantage for the hosts as one of the host countries of the tournament.
Despite all these repeated confrontations, the World Cup remains a tournament that is accustomed to breaking expectations and creating new stories in every edition, which makes the 2026 World Cup a candidate date for producing new chapters of history, and perhaps rewriting old chapters as well.
It is not unlikely that the qualifying rounds will also witness other, more intense and competitive, historical confrontations, including the possibility of Argentina facing England, or Germany facing Brazil, or France facing Argentina, or Spain facing the Netherlands, or Ghana versus Uruguay, which are matches capable of adding more excitement to an edition that is expected to be one of the most intense World Cup editions in history.
