Korea and Mexico enjoyed a soccer brotherhood in 2018 after Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min’s stoppage time goals helped Mexico clinch passage to the knockout stage despite a 3-0 loss to Sweden. The good vibes only continued with Son arriving in Los Angeles to join LAFC, a club with a large Mexican fan base, this summer.

The opening game of the first ever 48-team World Cup will be played on June 11, 2026. It will be the first of the 104 games that will be played in the tournament, shattering the previous record by 40 games.

Mexico will open in Mexico City against South Africa. South Korea and a European team to be determined are with El Tri in World Cup Group A.

El Tri can get back in the win column during its planned tour of Central America in January, with a squad that will be made up mostly of Liga MX-based players, but even those results will do little to take away the sting of defeats to South American rivals that Mexican fans feel their team should beat.