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If you need to know how to watch Mexico vs South Africa in the 2026 World Cup, we've got all the details right here. We've also got a full guide on how to watch every World Cup match for free.
The first match of this year's World Cup takes place on the 11th of June at 3pm ET / 8PM BST at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, immediately after the opening ceremony featuring Shakira, Burna Boy and many other Latin American musicians.
This will be the fifth time Mexico and South Africa have faced one another, sixteen years after they drew 1-1 in the opening match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. South Africa was the host nation for that one; this time around Mexico is co-hosting along with the US and Canada.
Mexico are coming to Thursday's match fresh from a string of eight successive wins in friendly matches this year, including wins against Ghana, Australia and Serbia. South Africa are the underdogs, and they will be hoping to do better than their closed-doors 1-1 draw with Jamaica on Saturday. As manager Hugo Broos told reporters: "the performance was not what I expected. I think we have to analyze the game very well and see what was really wrong and try to make it better in the next few days so that we are ready for the first game against Mexico."
Both teams have been affected by injuries, with Mexico's Thapelo Morena and Mohau Nkota missing the squad due to injury and left-back Aubrey Modiba recovering. Modiba is expected to be in the team for Thursday's match, however.
South Africa has been affected too, with goalkeeper Luis Ángel Malagón and midfielder Marcel Ruiz both absent due to injuries.
Mexico is the favorite for many people here, with 6 wins and 2 draws from 8 friendlies this year compared to South Africa's 3 draws and 2 defeats from 5 matches. But football's full of surprises and the South Africa squad will be determined to reverse their fortunes on Thursday, so it's set to be a thrilling match. Here's how to watch Mexico vs South Africa in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
How to watch Mexico vs South Africa free around the world
You may live in one of the lucky regions with free Mexico vs South Africa streams, but if you're traveling then you're likely to find yourself geoblocked – so for example if you're in the US you won't be able to access your BBC iPlayer or ITVX streams.
You can get round that by using a VPN, which enables you to set the location websites and apps see. That means you can stream just like you would at home.
Free streams available in:
- UK: ITVX
- Australia: SBS On Demand
- Ireland: RTE Player
We'd recommend Norton VPN as the best VPN for the World Cup. It's fast, it has a huge number of servers and its 60-day money back guarantee will see you through the full event.
How to watch Mexico vs South Africa in the US
If you want to watch Mexico vs South Africa for free in the US, YouTube TV has a compelling offer: new subscribers can get a free trial for 21 days and then discounted viewing for the next three months at $54.99, although you can cancel at any time. That gives you the YouTube TV Sports Plan featuring all of the Fox World Cup games plus ESPN, TNT, the NFL Network and others.
In a world first, Peacock will be streaming all the matches from the Spanish-language Telemundo in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for an even more immersive experience. You'll need the premium tier for that, and it's a very reasonable $10.99 per month – or free if you're a Walmart Plus member. If you're not currently a member you can sign up for 30 days for just $1.
The Peacock broadcasts will be in Spanish. If you'd prefer an English language broadcast of the Mexico vs South Africa match, Fubo is the place to go. It'll be carrying all the Fox and FS1 coverage, and there's a five-day free trial for that Sports + News package. Once the trial's up you'll pay $55.99 per month.
Another English-language option is Fox One, Fox's own streaming offering. That offers access to all the games in 4K resolution for $19.99 per month, and there's a three-day free trial for new customers.
Because the World Cup matches will be taking place in multiple time zones, FIFA and broadcasters have agreed to use Eastern Time for all match scheduling.
The Mexico vs South Africa match will begin at 3pm Eastern Time. Fox coverage will begin two hours before.
How to watch Mexico vs South Africa in the UK
In the UK the World Cup matches are split between ITV and the BBC. This Mexico vs South Africa match is one of ITV's, and that means you can either watch over traditional broadcasting or via the ITVX app, or the STV Player if you're in Scotland.
If you're travelling, for example to catch some of the matches live in the US, you won't be able to tune into the BBC or ITV matches from another country – but there's a workaround in the form of Norton VPN, which you can use to access streams that are geo-blocked.
Here in the UK we're currently on British Summer Time, so the Mexico vs South Africa kick-off is 8pm here.
How to watch Mexico vs South Africa in Canada
TSN is broadcasting all of the World Cup matches, so online you'll want to use the TSN+ streaming service. That costs $8 per month.
CTV is streaming some but not all of the games for free – it's covering 45 of them – and Mexico vs South Africa is one of the 45.
Kick-off for Mexico vs South Africa is at 3pm Eastern Time.
If you're travelling outside Canada during the World Cup and you want to access free streams without being geoblocked, you can use a VPN to bypass the blocks. Our favorite is Norton VPN.
How to watch Mexico vs South Africa in Australia
Australian fans can catch all 104 matches for free on SBS On Demand, and if you miss the kick-off – at 3pm Eastern Time / 5am AEST – you can catch a full replay on demand.
If you're going to be away from Australia during the match, you can still catch the free streams by using a VPN such as Norton VPN.
What time is Mexico vs South Africa?
FIFA and broadcasters are using Eastern Time for all matches, and Mexico vs South Africa will kick off at 3pm ET. That's 8pm BST. Half time will be at 3.45pm ET, and the second half will run from 4pm ET to 4.45pm ET.
Where is Mexico vs South Africa being played?
Mexico will play South Africa in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
