Mexico v South Africa: World Cup 2026 opening match – live
⚽️ Kick-off time: 1pm local/8pm BST/3pm EDT/5am AEST
⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Wallchart | Email Daniel
Aaaaand the first email of the competition goes too … Justin Kavanagh. “Football used to be seen as the opiate of the masses, with many stories from previous World Cups of ceasefires declared to watch games, birthrates soaring 9 months after victories … etc. However, this one feels more like a methadone clinic, with thin rations stretched out over a longer time frame, and with the dealer going uptown where he’ll find wealthier marks. Sure we’ll all watch on TV because we love the game. But more and more people who actually once participated in the game at any level are coming to the realisation that Fifa’s product is poisoned by politics and by greed, and Infantino and co have shut the gates on us.”
It takes a lot to make Sepp Blatter look like the arch liberator, doesn’t it? I wish I had something pithily amusing and reassuring to say here, but I don’t; we just have to do our best to oppose wrongness in our immediate spheres of influence.
