Chicago Fire FC defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi will represent South Africa in the World Cup opener against hosts Mexico on June 11, 2026, at Mexico City Stadium. Mbokazi, a 20-year-old center back, has been called to represent his home country after a brilliant start to his Fire career. He will face a daunting task in getting a result against host Mexico on home soil, as El Tri has never lost a World Cup match at the legendary venue, racking up five wins in seven tries. The hosts will count on a mix of veterans like forward Raul Jiménez and midfielder Edson Álvarez, as well as a new generation of players earning their first minutes of action in the competition. Among that list of new faces is a familiar one for Fire fans: Brian Gutiérrez, the Homegrown midfielder and Chicago native who left his hometown club this winter for his parents' homeland, where his scintillating performances led to a call-up and possible match-up against the newest member of the Men in Red. The match will be the third between South Africa and Mexico in an official competition, but the second to open the World Cup. In the first World Cup match held in African soil, hosts South Africa and Mexico played to a 1-1 draw in front of 84,490 fans at Soccer City in Johannesburg. Today's opener will happen exactly 16 years after Siphiwe Tshabalala won the hearts of millions with the opening goal of the 2010 tournament in his home nation. Mbokazi only has 10 caps to his name, but is expected to start for South Africa in the opening match. If he does, he will be the fifth Chicago Fire player to earn a start in the World Cup, following Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos (1998), American duo DaMarcus Beasley and Josh Wolff (2002) and Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri (2022). With an appearance or start for Mexico, midfielder Brian Gutiérrez would become the first Chicago Fire Academy player to take part in a World Cup. His former teammate, goalkeeper Chris Brady, was named to the USMNT's roster days before Gutiérrez made the final cut for Mexico; Gutiérrez thus becomes the second Academy player to earn a call-up, but could win the friendly rivalry by appearing in a match first.