Mexico Must Respect South Africa, Says Aguirre Before World Cup Curtain-Raiser

According to ESPN, Mexico head coach Javier Aguirre has stated that his team will not underestimate South Africa ahead of their FIFA World Cup opening match. Mexico will host South Africa on Thursday at the iconic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City in the tournament's opening game.

Aguirre stressed that Mexico would not take anything for granted. The match is also a rematch of the 2010 FIFA World Cup opener, which was played at Soccer City Stadium in South Africa. As one of the tournament's co-hosts, Mexico has the opportunity to begin their campaign with a victory. However, with South Africa returning to the World Cup after a 16-year absence, Aguirre remains cautious about the visitors.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday local time, Aguirre said: "South African football has definitely improved and developed. Their clubs compete in African competitions, such as Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, and we've seen that recently."

"We have great respect for South Africa. There are no weak teams anymore, but we are not afraid of them," he added.

Aguirre also expressed his admiration for South African supporters: "I really like their fans as well. Will they bring vuvuzelas? I don't know. But I do know they love dancing and wearing traditional headgear, and I like that very much."

FIFA has banned spectators from bringing vuvuzelas into stadiums for this tournament.

The Mexican coach also paid tribute to South Africa head coach Hugo Broos. The Belgian manager has been in charge of Bafana Bafana since 2021 and guided the team to the semi-finals of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations before leading them back to the World Cup after a lengthy absence.

"I have a lot of respect for Broos," Aguirre continued. "He has built a very good structure for the South African team, and he has worked with many of these Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns players since they were young."

Aguirre is well aware of South Africa's ability to produce surprises. During the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, he was in charge of an Egyptian side led by Mohamed Salah. However, Egypt were eliminated in the Round of 16 in Cairo after a dramatic defeat to South Africa.

Thembinkosi Lorch scored the only goal of the match, sending South Africa into the quarter-finals, where they would face Nigeria.

Reflecting on that experience, Aguirre joked: "You beat us in the tournament, so I hate you. From that 2019 AFCON squad, only Ronwen Williams is still there. Not many players remain."

He added: "Football is 11 against 11, and we have tremendous respect for our opponents. Someone can slip, someone can fall, and there are many things you cannot control. Even so, we have the quality to compete with them."

After their opening match against Mexico, South Africa will travel to Atlanta for their second Group A fixture against the Czech Republic on June 18, before concluding their group-stage campaign six days later against South Korea in Monterrey.