Four years later, the world will once again come to a halt.

Amid wars, economic uncertainty, political divisions, border tensions, migration crises, and the relentless rush of daily life, billions of people across the globe will turn their eyes toward a single screen.

Tonight, the curtain rises on the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a grand opening ceremony at the historic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has called this edition “the greatest show the planet has ever seen.” History, of course, will be the ultimate judge of that claim. Yet the numbers alone suggest that this World Cup is larger than any before it.

For the first time, 48 nations will compete. A total of 1,248 players will take part in 104 matches. Three countries—the United States, Canada, and Mexico—are hosting the tournament. Spread across 16 cities, four time zones, and six weeks, this unprecedented footballing spectacle begins today.

Africa arrives with a record ten representatives. The Arab world is represented by a record eight nations. Uzbekistan, Jordan, Cape Verde, and Curaçao will appear on football’s biggest stage for the first time. In many ways, today marks not merely the start of a tournament, but the dawn of a new era in the geographical expansion of the game.

The opening scene of this new chapter unfolds at Mexico City’s famous Azteca Stadium. Even its name carries the legacy of one of Mesoamerica’s most powerful civilizations—the Aztecs. On the very land where tales of courage and conquest were once etched into history, stands one of modern football’s most sacred temples.

This ground has witnessed some of the sport’s most immortal moments.

Here, Pelé lifted the World Cup in 1970. On Azteca’s green grass, that beautiful Brazilian side ascended into legend. Here, in 1986, Diego Maradona produced football’s most infamous and celebrated act—the “Hand of God.” On the same field, he authored the epic known as the “Goal of the Century,” sprinting 60 meters past five English players in just 11 seconds. Those eleven seconds remain vividly alive in the hearts of millions.

This stadium has heard some of the loudest roars in football history. It was here that the “Mexican Wave” first swept across the globe. Now, Azteca is set to become the first venue ever to host a World Cup opening match for the third time—a symbolic meeting point where football’s past, present, and future converge within the same circle.

At 1 a.m. Bangladesh time tonight, hosts Mexico will face South Africa in the opening match. Yet before the ball begins to roll, the world’s attention will be fixed on the opening ceremony.

The Mexico City celebration is far more than a musical performance. It is a showcase of the nation’s history, culture, and identity. The event blends vibrant papel picado traditions, Indigenous heritage, folk culture, and contemporary artistic expression. The stage will feature Shakira, Burna Boy, J Balvin, Tyla, Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Danny Ocean, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules, and Maná.

Shakira and Burna Boy will perform the tournament’s official anthem, Dai Dai. Through music, light, dance, and culture, the hosts seek to deliver a simple message: despite differences of language, nationality, and borders, football remains one of humanity’s most powerful forces of unity.

Yet this is not the only opening ceremony. For the first time in World Cup history, all three host nations will stage separate inaugural celebrations. Following Mexico’s event, Toronto in Canada and Los Angeles in the United States will host their own ceremonies tomorrow.

But the World Cup story has never been solely about joy.

It has always carried with it stories of controversy, politics, and economics.

The most significant controversy this year revolves around ticket prices. At the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the most expensive final ticket cost approximately $1,600. In 2026, that figure has surged to nearly $33,000. The extraordinary increase has triggered criticism across the world. Many supporters fear that the World Cup is gradually drifting beyond the reach of ordinary fans.

The shadow of geopolitics has grown longer with the situation surrounding Iran.

Amid the cycle of strikes and counterstrikes between Tehran and the Pentagon, Iran’s national team is preparing to compete on American soil. The Iranian Football Federation has alleged that its ticket allocation has been withdrawn and that visas have been denied to 15 administrative officials. The team has consequently shifted its base camp to Tijuana, Mexico.

The players will take the field, but their families and many of their supporters may not be present in the stands.

Somali referee Omar Artan was reportedly forced to return after arriving at Miami airport. A group of Scottish supporters also saw their travel permissions cancelled at the last moment. Human rights organization Human Rights Watch has warned that this World Cup risks becoming a symbol of exclusion and fear.

Even in Mexico, the atmosphere before kickoff has not been entirely calm.

Teacher union protests, demonstrations over wage increases, and threats of road blockades have compelled authorities to remain on heightened alert. Security around the opening match has been significantly strengthened. Organizers insist that both the ceremony and the match will proceed according to plan.

Yet amid all these complexities, the story written on the pitch may ultimately eclipse everything else.

Lionel Messi will take the field at the age of 38. In Qatar 2022, he guided Argentina to world glory. Will history turn toward him once again?

Then there is Cristiano Ronaldo.

At 41, he will wear Portugal’s colours on football’s grandest stage. Across an extraordinary career, only one achievement remains missing—the World Cup trophy. Portugal arrive stronger than ever, and Ronaldo knows this may be his final opportunity. The dream of one man, the hopes of a nation, and the final chapter of a remarkable career intersect in this World Cup.

Football, however, is also a factory of new heroes.

As Ronaldo and Messi approach the twilight of their journeys, Kylian Mbappé has emerged as one of the sport’s defining stars. Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal, Vinícius Júnior, Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Endrick, and Julián Álvarez represent a generation destined to shape world football over the coming decade.

Another major protagonist of this World Cup is technology.

Football was once a game governed almost entirely by the referee’s eye. Today, technology has become inseparable from the sport. Artificial intelligence, advanced offside systems, smart balls, real-time data analysis, and three-dimensional tracking technologies are all woven into the fabric of the game.

While spectators watch 22 players on the field, hundreds of sensors and algorithms will be silently observing every movement behind the scenes.

And when the lights of Azteca illuminate the night sky today, memories will awaken across the world.

Some will remember Pelé’s Brazil. Others will recall Maradona’s magic, Zidane’s France, or Iniesta’s Spain. In the mirror of the World Cup, every generation rediscovers a piece of its own nostalgia.

Six weeks from now, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, a new champion will lift the trophy. No one yet knows which nation will write history, which star will be born, which match will become legend, or which goal will live on in memory for decades.

That uncertainty is the World Cup’s greatest beauty.

From 1930 to 2026, across a journey spanning 96 years, the tournament has witnessed wars, boycotts, scandals, miraculous triumphs, and heartbreaking defeats. Yet every time, despite every controversy, when the referee blows the whistle and the ball begins to roll, the world pauses.

Tonight, that long-awaited whistle will echo through Mexico City.

The sky above Azteca will absorb the collective breath, anticipation, and excitement of 83,000 people. From Dhaka to Dubai, Lagos to London, and Buenos Aires to Beijing, millions will begin the same journey tonight. Different roads, different languages, different lives—but all roads lead to Azteca.

As Shakira’s familiar voice rises into the Azteca night, millions will gather before television screens—whether in a tea stall in Dhaka, a street corner in Lagos, or a neighbourhood in Buenos Aires.

Geographically, they are separated by continents and oceans. Yet through football, they remain connected by an invisible thread.

That is the World Cup’s most extraordinary power.

The game is played on one field, but it is felt in every corner of the planet. Ninety minutes on the clock become memories carried across generations.

That is the World Cup. The Greatest Show on Earth.

On the very land where the Aztec civilization once inscribed its myths, beliefs, and imperial dreams, the modern world’s grandest sporting epic now gathers. Through layers of history, carried by the inheritance of legends, the curtain rises today on football’s greatest festival—upon the mythic stage of Azteca.