FIFA World Cup 2026 Opens in Mexico City With Record 48-Team Format

MEXICO CITY — The 2026 FIFA World Cup opened on Wednesday, June 11, in Mexico City with a ceremony celebrating the tournament’s expanded 48-team format. The joint hosting by the United States, Canada, and Mexico makes this the biggest World Cup in history. For Africa, six nations will compete with their sights set on the continent’s best-ever collective performance.

Morocco, Africa’s highest-ranked team, is the continent’s greatest medal hope after their historic 2022 semifinal run. Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia, Cameroon, and the DRC also represent Africa. Nigeria’s absence remains a painful reminder of the Super Eagles’ World Cup qualifying failure, which coach Eric Chelle’s team is working to address through the upcoming AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign.

The opening ceremony featured Burna Boy and Shakira performing their official World Cup anthem Dai Dai to a global television audience estimated at over one billion viewers. For Nigerian music, the performance is the single largest platform moment in the genre’s history. Burna Boy delivered an outstanding performance that has drawn universal praise.

DRC’s Extraordinary Story

The DRC’s presence at the World Cup is particularly remarkable. The team completed a mandatory 21-day self-isolation in Belgium following the White House’s Ebola-related entry restriction order. They arrived in the US having maintained their fitness through modified training protocols during isolation and are competing with genuine competitive spirit.

African football fans across the continent are united in their support for all six African nations. The shared ambition is for at least one African team to reach the quarterfinals, continuing the progress of Morocco in 2022. Several analysts believe Morocco has a realistic path to the semifinals if they navigate their group successfully.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles are watching the tournament as non-participants for the first time in a major cycle. Coach Chelle and the NFF are using the World Cup window to continue squad preparation, with June friendlies against Poland and Portugal providing competitive matches against tournament-calibre opponents.